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THE  BRITISH  CITY 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCRACY 


9  y  ^  ?3* 
THE  BRITISH  CITY 

THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCRACY 


BY '.<? 
FREDERIC  CV  HOWE,  Ph.D. 

AUTHOR  OP  "  THE  CITY  :  THE  HOPE  OF  DEMOCRACY," 
„    "  THE  CONFE88ION3  OF  A  MONOPOLIST,"  ETC. 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 
1907 


COPYBIGHT,  1907,  BY 

CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 


Published  June,  1907 


To 

TOM  L.  JOHNSON 

Who    Found    in    the    Philosophy    of    Equal 

Opportunity  for  All  and  Special  Privilege 

for  None,  the  Inspiration  of  His 

Political  Life; 

Who   Halted   in   the    Conquest   of   Material 

Things  to  Take  Up  the  Burdens  of  the 

Warfare  Against  Monopoly; 

Whose  Cure  for  the  Failures  of  Democracy  is 
More  Democracy, 

This  Hook  is  Affectionately  Dedicated. 


PREFACE 

In  a  previous  volume,  devoted  to  a  study  of  the 
American  city,  I  stated  that:  "Instead  of  the  city 
being  controlled  by  the  charter,  the  suffrage  or  by 
purely  political  institutions,  I  have  become  con- 
vinced that  it  is  the  economic  environment  that 
creates  and  controls  man's  activities  as  well  as  his 
attitude  of  mind.  This  arouses  his  civic  or  his  self 
interest;  this  underlies  the  poverty  and  the  social 
problems  with  which  the  city  is  confronted**.  The 
worst  of  the  distressing  poverty  as  well  as  the  irre- 
sponsible wealth  is  traceable  to  economic  institu- 
tions, to  franchise  privileges  and  unwise  taxation ; 
to  laws  which  are  open  to  correction  as  they 
were  to  creation***.  It  is  the  economic  motive  that 
makes  municipal  reform  a  class  struggle;  on  the 
one  hand  are  the  few  who  enjoy  privileges  which 
they  are  seeking  to  retain;  on  the  other  hand  are 
millions  awakening  to  the  conviction  of  indus- 
trial democracy1." 

We  are  beginning  to  see  that  this  is  true.  At  the 
very  heart  of  our  institutional  life,  whether  of  the 
city,  the  State  or  the  nation,  some  interest  is  to  be 
found  struggling  to  control  the  machinery  of  gov- 

JThe  City:  The  Hope  of  Democracy.    Preface, 
vii 


viii  PREFACE 

ernment  for  its  own  advantage.  Back  of  the  boss 
and  the  party  organisation  are  hidden  powers 
which  inspire  their  activities.  The  caucus,  the  con- 
vention, the  party  platform  have  become  the  tools 
of  privilege  for  the  shaping  of  its  ends.  Kunning 
through  what  seems  to  be  the  personal  or  partisan 
controversies  of  the  President  with  Congress,  the 
struggles  over  the  organisation  of  Committees  of 
the  House,  the  tyrannous  control  of  the  Speaker 
and  the  Rules  Committee,  the  skirmishing  of  the 
Senate,  its  reactionary  procedure  and  Senatorial 
courtesy,  are  the  economic  business  motives  of  the 
interests  which  really  rule  at  Washington. 

In  the  commonwealths  the  same  is  true.  Into  the 
party  organisation  of  every  ward  or  township  run 
the  ramifications  of  the  railways,  the  franchise  in- 
terests and  other  privileges,  woven  into  a  system- 
atic unity  through  the  party  and  the  spoils  of 
office.  By  means  of  this  organisation  legislation  is 
made  responsive  to  the  will  of  the  business  inter- 
ests which  control  the  state  rather  than  to  the  will 
of  the  people  themselves.  In  the  cities  the  struggle 
is  for  franchise  rights,  the  control  of  the  courts  of 
justice  and  the  taxing  machinery  for  the  further- 
ance of  their  designs.  The  warp  and  woof  of  our 
politics  is  close  woven  with  the  desire  for  privilege, 
which  has  taken  possession  of  the  agencies  of 
democracy  for  the  promotion  of  its  interests.  The 
great  constitutional  questions   which    are    before 


PEEFACE  ix 

the  courts,  the  legislation  that  is  pressing  for 
action  in  Congress  and  the  State  Assemblies,  all 
bear  the  stamp  of  the  economic  struggle  between 
democracy  and  privilege  that  is  now  uppermost 
in  America. 

This  issue  overshadows  all  others.  It  obtrudes 
from  every  page  of  the  press.  It  is  present  in  every 
party  conference.  Monopoly,  or  the  desire  for 
monopoly,  the  creation  of  franchises,  grants  or 
subsidies,  the  exemption  of  property  from  taxation 
or  regulation — these  are  the  motives  which  run 
throughout  our  politics  to  the  exclusion  of  almost 
every  other  consideration.  Democracy  is  like  a 
majestic  organ  from  which  a  splendid  symphony  is 
awaited.  It  has  been  attuned  to  the  ideals  of 
builders,  who  dreamt  of  the  concord  of  harmony 
that  it  would  produce.  But  the  organist  knows 
little  and  cares  less  for  the  dreams  of  the  makers. 
It  is  he  and  not  the  organ  that  makes  the  melody. 
And  he  has  degraded  the  instrument  to  the  produc- 
tion of  dance  hall  music.  So,  back  of  the  many 
political  agencies,  that  have  been  laboriously 
created  for  the  expression  of  the  popular  will,  are 
to  be  found  the  interests  which  have  compelled 
democracy  to  respond  to  the  creation  of  privi- 
leges that  must  be  paid  for  by  the  labour  of  the 
people. 

The  struggle  for  government  by  the  people,  or 
government  by  organised  wealth,  is  the  struggle  of 


X  PKEFACE 

the  immediate  future.  It  will  express  itself  first 
in  the  city.  Here  the  issue  is  most  clearly  present- 
ed. Here  the  popular  will  is  most  responsive. 
Here  the  burdens  of  privilege  are  most  op- 
pressive. Municipal  democracy  is  finding  expres- 
sion in  the  demand  for  the  ownership  or  the  con- 
trol of  the  franchise  corporations,  in  the  revision 
of  taxation,  in  the  many  humane  movements  for 
the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  poor.  We 
are  coming  to  see  that  the  city  can  only  relieve 
itself  from  the  burdens  under  which  it  labours  when 
its  physical  foundations  are  under  the  control  of 
the  community  rather  than  in  private  hands. 

The  British  city  confirms  this  conviction.  For 
the  British  city  is  free  from  corruption.  Its  organ- 
isation is  simple,  direct,  democratic.  The  members 
of  the  Town  Councils  are  responsible  and  respon- 
sive to  public  opinion.  The  suffrage  is  limited  to 
the  tax  paying  class.  There  is  no  boss,  no  machine, 
no  spoils  system.  Great  Britain  has  achieved  what 
we  in  America  have  long  prayed  for.  Her  local 
politics  are  in  the  hands  of  her  business  men. 

Yet  poverty  is  at  its  worst  in  the  British  city. 
Millions  of  people  are  herded  in  tenements  unfit 
for  the  stabling  of  horses.  An  equal  number  are 
ever  hovering  on  the  border  line  of  pauperism.  So 
far  as  human  welfare  is  concerned  "good  govern- 
ment" is  not  enough.  Mere  honesty  is  not  enough. 
The  calling  of  business  men  to  the  Town  Councils 


PREFACE  xi 

has  not  relieved  the  terrible  costs  of  the  modern 
city.  The  life  of  the  people,  their  standard  of  exist- 
ence, the  condition  of  their  homes,  their  health, 
education  and  happiness  is  a  matter  of  something 
more  than  honesty  and  efficiency. 

In  the  British,  as  in  the  American  city,  Democ- 
racy is  chained,  Prometheus  like,  by  economic  fet- 
ters. The  people  enjoy  political  freedom.  But 
political  freedom  has  achieved  as  little  as  honesty. 
The  British  city  ■  is  under  the  servitude  of  an 
economic  master.  It  is  ruled  by  the  members  of 
Parliament,  and  especially  by  the  House  of  Lords, 
which  has  no  sympathy  with  the  ideals  of  democ- 
racy. For  democracy  is  seeking  to  destroy  the 
privileges  which  the  members  of  Parliament  enjoy. 
All  of  the  physical  foundations  of  the  city  are  in 
alien  hands.  And  those  who  own  these  privileges 
and  are  responsible  for  their  abuses  are  as  indiffer- 
ent to  the  needs  of  humanity  and  as  arrogant  in 
their  oppression  of  the  people  as  the  boss  of  any 
American  city.  In  Great  Britain,  as  in  America, 
conditions  are  the  same.  Human  welfare  is  subor- 
dinate to  property.  Those  who  suffer  from  the 
abuses  of  privilege  are  denied  the  power  to  correct 
them.  Despite  its  unquestioned  honesty  and  effi- 
ciency, the  British  city  remains  the  ward  of  its 
feudal  master,  Parliament. 

I  am  conscious  that  no  one  can  fully  understand 
the  country  in  which  he  lives.    Much  less  can  he 


xii  PKEFACE 

understand  a  nation  to  which  he  is  an  alien.  It  is 
possible,  however,  to  comprehend  certain  universal 
motives  of  human  nature,  motives  that  are  con- 
stant in  politics  and  express  themselves  in  every 
land  and  under  every  form  of  government.  The 
most  universal  instinct  of  man  is  to  avoid  effort, 
to  live  if  possible  without  labour.  This  is  the  motive 
that  underlies  the  surface  phenomena  of  all  his- 
tory. It  is  the  one  note  that  is  common  in  the  con- 
temporary politics  of  all  countries.  Back  of  the 
spectacular  controversies  of  parties,  the  by-plays 
of  Kings  and  Ministries,  of  Parliament  and  Con- 
gress, is  the  struggle  of  the  few  to  get  upon  the 
backs  of  the  many.  To  live  without  labour  means 
that  one  must  live  by  the  labour  of  others.  This  is 
the  motive  of  privilege.  It  is  the  instinct  of  mon- 
opoly. It  is  the  meaning  of  protective  tariffs,  of 
railway,  franchise  and  mining  grants,  of  land 
monopoly,  of  subsidies,  of  indirect  taxes  upon  con- 
sumption, of  unjust  taxation  in  any  form.  It  is 
the  lust  of  something  for  nothing  that  makes  of 
the  House  of  Lords  and  the  United  States  Senate 
instinctive  obstacles  to  democracy.  Both  cham- 
bers are  the  sanctuaries  of  privilege.  At  their 
doors  democracy  is  beating  in  the  name  of 
humanity.  The  movement  is  inspired  from  below 
among  the  common  people.  Democracy  is  hav- 
ing its  beginnings  in  the  city.  The  issue  with 
which    we    are    familiar   in    Chicago,    Cleveland, 


PKEFACE  xiii 

Detroit,  Cincinnati  and  elsewhere  is  the  same  issue 
that  is  uppermost  in  the  cities  of  London,  Glasgow, 
Manchester,  Liverpool  and  Sheffield. 

All  that  the  Imperial  government  has  ever 
meant  to  the  great  mass  of  the  British  people  has 
been  the  privilege  of  carrying  the  aristocracy  in 
idleness  upon  its  back.  Government  by  gentlemen 
is  the  costliest  burden  under  which  the  nation 
staggers.  The  ideal  statesman  is  a  member  of  the 
nobility,  the  country  squire,  the  leisured  gentle- 
man, the  generous  employer  of  labour,  some  digni- 
tary of  the  community.  And  because  Great 
Britain  has  succeeded  in  luring  this  class  of  men 
into  her  politics  we  have  been  assured  that  repre- 
sentative government  was  there  at  its  best.  It  is  to 
this  class  that  many  reformers  would  have  Amer- 
ica entrust  her  affairs.  British  and  American 
observers  have  been  deceived  by  the  appearance  of 
things.  The  members  of  the  gentry  are  in  Parlia- 
ment, for  the  same  reason  that  the  railway  director 
is  in  Congress.  They  are  looking  after  their  inter- 
ests. And  nowhere  does  their  energy  yield  larger 
returns.  It  is  not  merely  the  personal  honesty  of 
those  who  rule  that  makes  government  good  or  bad. 
It  is  the  economic  interests  which  they  represent. 
Even  the  form  which  the  government  assumes  is  a 
secondary  matter.  And  a  study  of  the  British  city 
will  demonstrate  that  its  qualities,  whether  they 
be  good  or  bad,  are  reducible  to  this  interpretation. 


xiv  PKEFACE 

Just  as  the  British  city  is  sacrificed  to  the  greed 
of  its  overlords  in  Parliament,  so  the  Town  Coun- 
cils are  cramped  in  their  ideals  by  the  rate  paying 
class  which  elects  them.  Administration  is  meas- 
ured in  terms  of  its  cost.  The  ideals  of  the  city  are 
those  of  thrift,  of  economy,  of  the  petty  business 
man.  Nowhere  is  democracy  a  big,  generous,  per- 
sonal thing.  The  fear  of  an  increased  tax  rate  is 
always  uppermost  in  men's  minds.  This  is  not  the 
"literary  theory"  of  the  British  city,  but  the  "liter- 
ary theory,"  as  Walter  Bagehot  has  pointed  out  in 
reference  to  the  British  Constitution,  is  usually 
false  to  the  reality. 

The  rate  payers  who  control  the  Town  Councils 
are  at  war  with  the  great  landlords  who  control 
Parliament  from  the  House  of  Lords.  It  is  they 
who  own  the  land  which  the  local  authorities  want 
to  tax  or  acquire  for  city  purposes.  They  also  own 
the  franchise  corporations  which  the  Town  Coun- 
cils would  purchase  or  regulate  in  the  interest  of 
the  people.  Among  their  number  are  to  be  found 
the  slum  lords  whose  neglect  is  responsible  for  the 
condition  of  the  tenements.  Parliament  hates  the 
democracy  of  the  Town  Councils.  It  endeavours 
to  curb  it  at  every  turn.  And  well  it  may.  For 
the  Town  Councils  are  endeavouring  to  destroy  the 
privileges  which  the  landed  gentry  have  enjoyed 
from  time  immemorial. 

The  recent  Parliamentary  election  was  the  first 


PEEFACE  xv 

definite  expression  of  this  struggle.  It  swept  away 
the  Conservative  party,  stupefied  by  its  long  con- 
tinued reactionary  rule.  It  ushered  in  a  coalition 
government  of  Liberals,  Socialists  and  Labourites. 
In  a  broad  perspective  it  marks  the  beginning  of  a 
revolution  not  unlike  that  which  followed  the  Re- 
form Acts  of  the  early  half  of  the  century.  The 
latter  was  a  commercial,  middle  class  movement. 
Liberalism  scarcely  rose  above  the  ideals  of  the  cap- 
tains of  industry,  who  were  content  with  reform  so 
long  as  it  admitted  them  to  a  share  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  masses  of  the  people  have  enjoyed  but 
little  more  consideration  under  the  old  Liberal 
party  than  under  the  Tory  ascendancy. 

Real  democracy  is  but  beginning.  It  is  finding 
its  voice  in  the  demand  for  industrial  legislation. 
It  is  aiming  to  make  use  of  the  ballot  for  the  cor- 
rection of  the  present  unequal  distribution  of 
wealth.  It  is  inspired  by  the  fearful  poverty  of  the 
bulk  of  the  nation,  by  the  injustice  of  the  system 
of  taxation,  by  the  tyrannous  use  of  power  by  the 
classes  long  in  control  of  the  government. 

The  new  democracy  is  issuing  from  the  cities.  It 
has  been  trained  to  a  confidence  in  itself  in  the 
Town  Councils.  The  Municipal  Corporations  Act  of 
1835  is  the  foundation  upon  which  the  masses  of 
the  British  people  are  to  achieve  representative 
government.  The  rate  payers  of  the  towns  have 
learned  that  administration  is  not  the  exclusive 


xvi  PKEFACE 

privilege  of  the  gentry  class.  The  shop  keeper  and 
the  wage  earner  have  found  a  way  into  politics. 
They  have  been  trained  to  a  confidence  that  other- 
wise they  never  could  have  acquired.  The  rever- 
ence for  authority,  so  long  universal  in  Great  Brit- 
ian,  has  been  shattered.  Keaction  is  still  strong  in 
the  rural  districts,  but  the  many  successful 
achievements  of  the  towns  have  awakened  a  belief 
in  the  power  of  the  government  still  further  to  alle- 
viate the  condition  of  the  people.  All  this  has 
modified  the  traditions  as  well  as  the  formulas  of 
British  politics.  It  has  awakened  new  ideas  that 
are  not  confined  to  the  socialist  or  the  labour  par- 
ties. 

Just  as  the  economic  motive  animates  the  mem- 
bers of  Parliament,  so  the  same  motive  inspires  the 
new  democracy  that  has  issued  from  the  towns. 
The  difference  is  not  one  of  motive  so  much  as  it  is 
of  the  size  of  the  class  from  which  it  comes.  There 
is,  however,  this  fundamental  distinction.  Special 
privilege  can  only  be  enjoyed  by  a  few.  It  must  be 
paid  by  the  labour  of  the  many.  Democracy,  on 
the  other  hand,  is  inspired  by  the  desire  of  equal 
opportunity  for  all.  And  this  seems  to  be  the  ideal 
of  the  city,  wherever  democracy  has  awakened  to  its 
powers. 

Frederic  C.  Howe. 

Cleveland,  Ohio,  May  1, 1907. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PADS 

I.  Introductory 1 

II.    The  Beginnings  of  Democracy    ....  8 

III.  The  Town  Council ,       .  24 

IV.  The  Citizen  and  the  City 40 

V.    The  Ideals  of  the  British  City         ...  55 

VI.    The  Growth  and  Extent  of  Municipal  Trading  70 

VII.    The  Cities  and  the  Tramways     ....  82 

VIII.    The  Gas  Supply 101 

•    IX.    The  Electricity  Supply Ill 

X.    The  Greatest  Gain  of  All 119 

XI.    The  Municipality  and  Labour     .       .       .       .135 

XII.    Parliament  and  the  Cities:    The  Tyranny  of 

a  Class 144 

XIII.  Glasgow— A  City  of  Thrdjt  and  Conscience  161 

XIV.  London:   A  Municipal  Democracy      .       .       .  203 

XV.    The  American  and  the  British  City — A  Com- 
parison         228 

XVI.    The  Dead  Hand  of  the  Land      .       .       .       .251 

XVII.    The  British  Parliament— The  Sanctuary  of 

Privilege 272 

XVIII.    The  Upper  and  the  Nether  Millstones  of 

Privilege 303 

XIX.    The  Next  Step  of  Industrial  Democracy       .  322 

XX.    The  City  of  To-morrow 336 

Index 365 


THE  BRITISH  CITY 

CHAPTER  I 

INTRODUCTORY 

According  to  the  Census  returns  of  1901,  sev- 
enty-seven per  cent,  of  the  population  of  the  Brit- 
ish Isles  lives  under  urban  conditions.  Nearly 
four-fifths  of  the  people  dwell  in  towns.  From  dec- 
ade to  decade  the  percentage  of  city  dwellers  in- 
creases, while  the  number  of  those  who  remain  on 
the  farms  diminishes.  Not  only  is  the  countryside 
being  wasted  of  its  population,  but  those  who 
remain  are  no  longer  the  strong  and  vigorous  yeo- 
man who  sent  the  English  colonial  to  the  ends  of 
the  earth  as  settler,  administrator  and  soldier. 
Those  who  abandon  the  farms  and  go  to  the  towns 
are  untrained  and  undernourished.  They  are  not 
fitted  for  the  industrial  struggle  which  the  city  in- 
volves. Neither  the  education  nor  the  opportunity 
of  the  labourer  are  such  as  invigorate  and  keep 
fresh  the  city  population  of  Germany  and  the 
United  States.  And  it  is  upon  this  constant  in- 
fusion of  new  blood  that  the  industrial  life  of  the 
nation  depends.  In  Great  Britain,  as  elsewhere,  the 
problem  of  the  city  is  the  problem  of  civilisation. 


2  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

The  two  cannot  be  disassociated.  The  city  cannot 
be  treated  as  an  isolated  thing.  It  is  the  heart  of 
the  nation.  But  it  is  upon  the  lungs  of  the  country- 
side that  its  vitality  depends.  For  this  reason  this 
volume  is  something  more  than  a  study  of  munic- 
ipal administration.  It  is  a  study  of  the  nation  as 
well. 

As  recently  as  1904,  three  quarters  of  a  million 
skilled  workmen  were  without  employment  in 
Great  Britain.  Including  the  unskilled  labourers 
and  those  known  to  be  in  absolute  poverty,  to- 
gether with  those  dependent  upon  them,  there  were 
from  seven  to  ten  million  people  in  want  or  in  con- 
stant fear  of  it.  These  persons  were  brought  into 
the  world  endowed  with  energy  and  a  willingness 
to  work.  But  they  have  no  right  of  access  to  the 
resources  of  the  earth.  The  land,  the  mines,  the 
mills  and  the  workshops  are  in  alien  hands.  La- 
bour can  only  employ  itself  on  the  terms  which  the 
owner  exacts.  And  under  the  system  of  rack  rent- 
ing, which  prevails,  the  returns  to  the  worker  are 
but  little  better  than  the  acceptance  of  public 
relief.  Under  the  feudal  order,  which  modern  in- 
dustrialism has  destroyed,  man  was  identified  with 
the  land.  He  had  some  rights  in  the  soil.  He  was 
protected  by  law  and  custom.  He  enjoyed  a  status 
in  the  social  order  that  insured  him  a  chance  to 
work,  an  opportunity  to  make  some  use  of  his  abil- 
ities. 


INTRODUCTORY  3 

To-day  society  recognises  no  such  obligations  to 
its  members.  Man  has  now  become  the  ward  of 
many  masters.  In  the  past  he  had  at  most  but  one. 
The  worker  is  scarcely  more  free  than  he  was  in 
the  days  of  his  serfdom.  Freedom  of  contract,  of 
movement  from  place  to  place,  and  a  purely  cash 
relationship  on  a  competitive  basis,  have  taken  the 
place  of  a  custom  that  served  as  a  safeguard 
against  the  worst  sort  of  oppression.  The  coming 
of  the  city  with  its  industrial  relationships  has 
destroyed  many  of  the  communal  rights  that 
existed  under  the  earlier  order.  The  rules  of  the 
contest  are  as  ruthless  as  the  rules  of  barbaric  war- 
fare. Man  is  bound  to  pay  what  another  wills  for 
the  use  of  the  land,  upon  which  he  has  what  passes 
for  a  home.  He  is  chained  by  the  means  of  trans- 
portation, as  well  as  the  necessities  of  heat,  light 
and  water.  Upon  these  his  life  depends.  He  is 
dependent  upon  the  vicissitudes  of  industry.  He 
cannot  control  the  place  where  he  works,  cannot 
control  even  the  opportunity  to  work.  He  is  of  less 
concern  to  his  master  than  the  machine  to  which  he 
is  attached,  for  he  involves  no  capital  cost,  no  bur- 
den of  repair  or  maintainance.  Thousands  stand 
ready  to  take  his  place  without  question  as  to  the 
hazards  involved.  Under  the  boasted  freedom  of 
contract  mankind  has  been  divorced  from  any  legal 
claim  to  the  earth  or  the  physical  foundations  of 
society  upon  which  all  life  depends.     This  is  the 


4  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

most  revolutionary  of  all  of  the  changes  that  have 
come  to  society.  It  is  a  reversal  of  the  laws  of 
nature.  It  is  a  reversal  of  the  social  order  which 
has  existed  from  time  immemorial.  For  whether  it 
be  in  ancient  India  or  in  early  Germany,  in  feudal 
Europe  or  in  the  newer  nations  of  the  earth,  the 
laws  and  customs  of  the  people  or  the  open  re- 
sources of  the  soil,  have  insured  to  man  some  op- 
portunity to  the  use  and  enjoyment  of  the  common 
gifts  of  God. 

It  has  become  necessary  to  recast  our  philos- 
ophy, to  reconstruct  our  conceptions  of  the  rights 
of  humanity,  as  opposed  to  the  rights  of  property. 
It  is  necessary  to  find  new  rules  for  determining 
the  proper  and  necessary  functions  of  the  commun- 
ity. What  are  its  obligations  to  its  members,  who 
enjoy  all  of  the  formulas  of  liberty  but  little  of  its 
substance.  The  political  philosophy  of  a  simple 
agricultural  society,  in  which  each  household  was 
sufficient  unto  itself  will  not  suffice,  when  all  of 
the  conditions  of  life  are  subject  to  the  unre- 
strained ownership  and  rights  of  another. 

How  will  these  conditions  be  met?  Does  it  accord 
with  the  ideals  or  the  powers  of  democracy  that  mil- 
lions of  workers  should  be  the  merest  wards  of  a 
handful  of  men  who  own  the  land  upon  which  the 
life  of  the  people  depends?  For  this  is  the  condi- 
tion of  Great  Britain.  The  old  feudal  aristocracy 
remains  the  economic  as  well  as  the  political  mas- 


INTRODUCTORY  5 

ter  of  the  British  people.  Forty  millions  of 
landless  tenants  have  no  other  alternative 
but  that  which  the  gentry  sees  fit  to  offer  them. 
This  is  the  problem  which  the  British  city  has  to 
face.  For  the  city,  with  its  increasing  poverty  and 
vice,  is  one  of  the  direct  results  of  this  condition. 
And  the  cost  of  it  all  is  becoming  more  and  more 
apparent  to  those  who  are  willing  to  see.  They  are 
beginning  to  ask  if  this  is  the  best  that  Democracy 
can  do  with  its  power. 

The  well  being  and  the  happiness  of  the  people 
should  be  the  most  important  question  before  any 
government.  The  existence  of  poverty,  on  a  wide 
scale,  should  banish  every  other  question  until  its 
cause  is  explained.  Every  consideration  of  Chris- 
tianity, of  humanity,  of  long-sighted  statesmanship 
should  place  this  problem  first  in  the  programme 
of  any  party.  Questions  of  armament,  of  colonial 
administration  or  expansion,  of  war  or  of  peace 
should  be  ignored  until  some  explanation  is  found 
and  some  solution  is  offered  for  the  existence  of 
poverty  in  the  midst  of  great  plenty,  of  national 
decay  alongside  of  unparalleled  luxury,  of  over- 
flowing prisons  and  workhouses  in  a  civilisation 
that  has  made  all  nature  tribute  to  the  ingenuity 
of  man. 

The  cities  of  Great  Britain  represent  the  final 
result  of  the  existing  industrial  order.  Here  pov- 
erty seems  worse  than  any  place  in  the  civilised 


6  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

world.  Here  the  problem  of  non-employment,  of 
the  chance  to  live  without  resort  to  charity,  is  ever 
uppermost  in  the  minds  of  millions  of  persons. 
Here  unearned  wealth  is  most  obtruding.  Here  it 
is  also  most  powerful.  Here  the  gulf  between 
those  who  labour  without  ceasing  and  those  who 
labour  not  at  all  is  most  apparent.  The  city  has 
become  the  most  pressing  problem  which  con- 
fronts Great  Britain.  It  involves  her  standing  as 
a  great  nation.  It  profoundly  effects  her  army. 
Her  industrial  supremacy  has  already  suffered  by 
reason  of  the  enervation  of  the  people.  The  prob- 
lem of  the  city  and  the  condition  of  the  city  dweller 
has  become  a  question  of  national  existence. 

In  a  measure  the  Town  Councils  of  Great  Britain 
recognise  these  things.  The  necessity  of  relief,  of 
education,  of  health,  of  life  itself,  have  forced  the 
cities  to  a  new  outlook  upon  society.  Uncon- 
sciously the  city  has  become  a  commanding  politi- 
cal agency.  It  is  constantly  enlarging  its  activi- 
ties in  response  to  necessity.  It  has  abandoned 
many  of  the  formulas  of  an  earlier  political  phil- 
osophy. 

It  is  through  the  machinery  of  local  self-govern- 
ment that  democracy  in  Great  Britain  is  emerging. 
Progress  is  bound  to  be  painfully  slow.  There  will 
be  disheartening  reactions,  such  as  have  recently 
happened  in  the  elections  of  London,  but  the  move- 
ment will  always  be  onward.    The  contest  for  in- 


INTRODUCTORY  7 

dustrial  freedom  is  one  of  the  most  Titanic  of  mod- 
ern times.  For  the  organised  power  of  those  who 
control  the  economic  foundations  of  the  British 
nation  is  not  unlike  that  of  the  ancient  regime  in 
France, 


CHAPTER  II 
THE  BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCRACY 

The  city  is  the  most  democratic  institution  in 
Great  Britain.  In  many  ways,  it  is  the  only  evi- 
dence of  democracy  jn  that  country.  Here  alone 
has  government  divorced  itself  from  tradition,  caste 
and  privilege.  Here  alone  is  political  vitality,  here 
only  initiative  and  real  ideals.  And  nowhere  else, 
whether  in  Europe  or  America,  has  popular  govern- 
ment more  fully  justified  itself  than  in  British 
local  administration. 

Despite  the  wide  extension  of  the  suffrage,  Par- 
liament remains  essentially  reactionary.  It  is  an- 
chored to  the  past.  It  is  fearful  of  change,  and  views 
democracy  as  a  troublesome  cub  which  it  feeds  from 
fear  rather  than  from  affection.  It  trusts  the 
cities  only  to  the  extent  to  which  it  has  become  nec- 
essary to  do  so.  It  has  enlarged  municipal  powers 
because  of  the  utter  breakdown  of  the  privileged 
orders  which  up  to  1835  managed  local  affairs. 
Even  to-day  every  grant  of  power  to  the  Town 
Councils  is  jealously  watched,  and  suspiciously  su- 
pervised. The  cities  have  learned  to  walk  alone, 
in    spite    of    Parliamentary    strait-jackets,    and 

8 


BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCEACY  9 

have  achieved  their  present  proud  distinction  in 
the  face  of  the  persistent  jealousy  of  the  ruling 
classes. 

For  Parliament  remains  a  landed  aristocracy; 
the  abode  of  privilege  in  all  of  its  forms.  Within 
recent  years,  even  the  liberalism  of  a  generation 
ago,  the  liberalism  of  Cobden,  of  Bright,  and  of 
Russell  has  passed  into  an  inner  cabinet  control. 
The  House  of  Commons  has  been  changed  from  an 
assembly  of  the  nation  into  a  recording  body  ruled 
by  a  small  landed  family  aristocracy  much  as  the 
House  of  Representatives  is  ruled  by  the  Speaker.1 

Such,  at  least,  has  been  the  character  of  Parlia- 
ment under  the  ascendancy  of  the  Conservative 
party,  which,  with  a  short  interruption,  has  been  in 
power  since  the  defeat  of  Gladstone's  Home  Rule 
Bill  in  1886.  During  these  years  democracy  has 
been  at  a  low  ebb.  The  forces  at  work  in  the  cities 
have  been  the  only  vital  evidences  of  its  existence 
in  the  United  Kingdom.  And  the  recent  Liberal 
victory  is  in  large  measure  attributable  to  the  long 
training  in  self-government  which  the  people  have 
enjoyed  in  local  affairs.  In  England  as  in 
America,  constructive  democracy  is  at  work  in  the 
cities.     And  the  coming  changes  in  the  political 

1This  description  of  the  attitude  and  motives  of  Parliament  is 
less  true  of  the  present  Liberal  Party  than  of  any  of  its  predeces- 
sors. But  even  when  that  party  controls  the  House  of  Commons 
its  programme  of  legislation  is  subject  to  the  veto  of  the  House 
of  Lords,  which  is  always  reactionary. 


10  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

institutions  of  Great  Britain  are  likely  to  be  far 
more  radical  than  the  unexpected  Liberal  majority 
in  the  present  Parliament  of  itself  would  indicate. 

Unlike  Parliament,  the  city  is  representative  in 
its  instincts,  in  its  personnel,  in  its  ideals.  It  is 
responsive  to  public  opinion,  and  responsible  to 
the  people.  In  this  respect,  it  is  the  most  repre- 
sentative of  British  institutions,  even  though  it  is 
still  far  from  radical  in  its  democracy. 

It  is  possible  that  the  last  election  foreshadows 
a  revolution  in  Parliament  not  unlike  that  which 
followed  the  Eeform  Bill  of  1832,  when  the  politi- 
cal privileges  of  the  rotten  boroughs,  upon  which 
the  great  landed  families  maintained  their  ascend- 
ancy, were  abolished.  But  whereas  the  changes 
then  inaugurated  were  of  a  political  sort,  the  re- 
forms which  now  seem  imminent  are  industrial  and 
social.  They  had  their  origin  in  the  cities,  and  are 
essentially  democratic  in  their  purposes. 

The  recent  election  marks  the  political  ascend- 
ancy of  the  towns  and  the  industrial  issues  which 
are  there  most  manifest.  With  this  ascendancy 
achieved,  the  social  and  political  aspirations  that 
have  been  germinating  in  the  local  communities  for 
the  past  ten  years  are  bound  to  be  extended  to  the 
nation  at  large.  The  present  Liberal  party  is  a 
very  different  party  from  that  which  followed  the 
leadership  of  Gladstone.  New  phrases  and  formu- 
las have  come  in  with  the  generation  which  is  now 


BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCRACY  11 

upon  the  stage.  The  House  of  Commons  is  far 
more  representative  of  the  British  people  than  it 
has  ever  been  before.  And  its  programme  is  one  of 
much  promise  to  the  people  as  a  whole. 

Prior  to  1835  the  government  of  the  towns  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  privileged  classes.  The  people 
had  no  voice  in  the  administration,  less  voice,  in 
fact,  than  the  people  of  Philadelphia,  of  St.  Louis, 
of  Cincinnati  had  in  their  own  affairs  in  the  days 
of  their  completest  subjection.  Even  the  forms  of 
popular  government  were  not  preserved.  The  char- 
ters of  the  towns  were  derived  from  the  King.  Most 
of  them  related  back  to  the  seventeenth  century, 
when  Charles  II,  desiring  to  pack  Parliament  with 
members  who  would  support  the  Crown,  issued 
writs  of  quo  warranto,  by  means  of  which  the  bor- 
oughs or  towns  were  deprived  of  their  ancient 
rights.  New  charters  were  thereupon  granted,  un- 
der which  Charles  reserved  to  himself  the  right  to 
nominate  members  of  the  Town  Councils.  For  the 
members  of  the  Council  determined  who  should 
be  admitted  to  the  borough  as  freemen,  and  conse- 
quently who  should  vote  for  members  of  Parlia- 
ment. Through  these  means  Parliament  was  kept 
in  a  state  of  subserviency  to  the  Crown,  and  to  the 
powerful  landed  families  grouped  about  the  Court. 

Such  is  the  lineage  of  "ripper"  legislation  with 
which  we  are  so  familiar  in  America.  Like  many 
another  evil  institution,  it  is  traceable  to  the  Stu- 


12  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

arts.  In  the  enforcement  of  his  will  and  the  carry- 
ing out  of  his  programme  Charles  II  made  use  of 
the  infamous  Judge  Jeffries,  who  in  1684  went  on 
the  Northern  Circuit  with  the  boast  that  "he  made 
all  the  charters,  like  the  walls  of  Jericho,  fall  down 
before  him,  and  that  he  returned  laden  with  sur- 
renders, the  spoils  of  the  towns." 

The  decay  of  local  government  in  England  dates 
from  this  interference  by  the  Crown.  In  time  the 
councils  became  self-elective  and  exclusive.  By 
1834,  but  twelve  of  the  211  corporations  even  pre- 
served the  fiction  of  election  by  the  freemen.  In 
212  boroughs,  with  a  total  population  of  1,800,000, 
there  were  but  88,509  freemen  enjoying  the  voting 
franchise.  In  Ipswich,  with  a  population  of  20,000, 
there  were  but  1130  freemen,  and  of  these  760  were 
non-residents.  In  Marlborough,  the  number  of  free- 
men was  fifteen,  exactly  the  number  of  officers. 
Ninety-two  boroughs  had  less  than  fifty  freemen 
each. 

The  voters  were  corrupt  as  well  as  ignorant.  They 
were  at  the  command  of  some  powerful  family  or 
the  purchase  of  the  highest  bidder.  Their  number 
was  frequently  increased  on  the  eve  of  election  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  a  parliamentary  majority. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  town  corporations  existed 
chiefly  for  parliamentary  purposes.  As  administra- 
tive agencies  for  local  purposes,  they  had  practi- 
cally lost  all  of  their  functions.    "A  great  number 


BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCRACY  13 

of  corporations,"  said  the  Commissioners  of  1835, 
"have  been  preserved  solely  as  political  engines,  and 
the  towns  to  which  they  belong  derive  no  benefit  but 
much  injury  from  their  existence.  To  maintain  the 
political  ascendancy  of  a  family  has  been  the  one 
end  and  object  for  which  the  powers  entrusted  to 
these  bodies  have  been  exercised.  The  object  has 
been  systematically  pursued  in  the  admission  of 
freemen,  resident  or  non-resident;  in  the  selection 
of  functionaries  for  the  council  and  the  magistracy ; 
in  the  appointment  of  subordinate  officers  and  the 
local  police;  in  the  administration  of  charities  en- 
trusted to  the  municipal  authorities ;  in  the  expen- 
diture of  corporate  revenues;  and  in  the  manage- 
ment of  corporate  property."1 

The  councils  and  the  mayors  were  no  less  corrupt 
than  the  electors.  Jobbery,  corruption  and  oppres- 
sion were  universal.  Aldermen  granted  contracts 
and  trading  privileges  to  themselves.  The  magis- 
trates were  distrusted  by  the  people.  They  were 
often  unable  to  read  and  write.  The  corporate 
funds,  which  were  largely  derived  from  markets, 
municipal  estates  and  town  dues,  were  seldom  ap- 
plied to  the  benefit  of  the  community.  They  were 
expended  in  feasting  and  in  paying  the  salaries 
of  officials.  The  funds  of  the  corporation  were  free- 
ly spent  in  the  bribery  of  electors.  The  council, 
which  was  usually  chosen   for  life,  and   had   the 

'Report  of  the  Commissioners  on  Municipal  Corporations, 
Parliamentary  Papers,  1835,  p.  34. 


14  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

power  of  electing  its  own  successors,  considered 
that  the  corporate  funds  and  property  were  held 
for  the  benefit  of  the  members  of  the  corporation, 
and  not  for  the  town  itself.  In  some  instances,  the 
funds  of  the  corporation  were  so  used  that  the 
towns  became  bankrupt.1 

One  of  the  privileges  of  the  freemen  was  that  they 
paid  no  taxes.  Taxes  were  paid  by  non-freemen. 
And  the  dues  were  very  oppressive.  Then,  as  now, 
the  complaint  was  made  that  the  freemen  "wanted 
the  poor  to  pay  everything"  to  the  relief  of  those 
who  ruled.  In  many  instances  there  were  no  watch- 
men, and  no  police  officials  of  any  kind,  excepting 
the  constables  who  were  unpaid. 

All  sense  of  local  liberty  and  self-government  was 
dead.  For  generations  the  towns  were  the  football 
of  Parliament.  If  it  became  necessary  to  have 
something  done,  a  special  commission  was  created 
to  do  it,  just  as  our  state  legislatures,  distrustful 
of  city  councils,  create  special  boards  or  commis- 
sions to  carry  out  some  local  undertaking.  The 
town  corporations  could  not  levy  taxes,  and  could 
not  control  sanitation — they  had  none  of  the  large 
powers  of  an  industrial  nature  that  have  since  been 
conferred  upon  the  cities. 

These  conditions  were  far  worse  than  anything 

JThe  City  of  London  proper,  which  comprises  the  region 
about  the  Bank  of  England,  remains  to  this  day  a  type  of  the 
unreformed  town  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Its  ancient  char- 
ter was  undisturbed  by  the  act  of  1835. 


BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCEACY  15 

America  has  since  experienced.  For  corruption 
and  inefficiency  were  universal.  They  extended  to 
the  electorate  as  well  as  to  the  official  class.  There 
was  no  background  of  democracy,  no  ideals  of  ad- 
ministration to  which  one  might  appeal.  The  Eng- 
lish town  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury was  in  what  must  have  seemed  a  hopeless  state 
of  political  decay.1 

The  foundations  of  the  present  local  administra- 
tis Report  of  the  Commission  to  enquire  into  the  condition 
of  the  municipalities  of  England  and  Wales  suggests  a  paral- 
lel between  English  and  American  conditions.  And  it  is  en- 
couraging to  know  that  Great  Britain  has  passed  through  a 
condition  of  municipal  corruption  far  more  hopeless  than 
our  own.  The  Commission  of  1835  concluded  its  report  as 
follows: 

"We  report  to  your  Majesty  that  there  prevails  amongst  the 
inhabitants  of  the  great  majority  of  the  incorporated  towns  a 
general,  and,  in  our  opinion,  a  just  dissatisfaction  with  the 
municipal  institutions — a  distrust  of  the  self-elected  munici- 
pal councils,  whose  powers  are  subject  to  no  popular  control, 
and  whose  acts  and  proceedings,  being  secret,  are  unchecked 
by  the  influence  of  public  opinion;  a  distrust  of  the  municipal 
magistracy,  tainting  with  suspicion  the  local  administration 
of  justice,  and  often  accompanied  with  contempt  of  the  per- 
sons by  whom  the  law  is  administered;  a  discontent  under 
the  burdens  of  local  taxation,  while  revenues  that  ought  to 
be  applied  for  the  public  advantage  are  diverted  from  their 
legitimate  use,  and  are  sometimes  wastefully  bestowed  for 
the  benefit  of  individuals,  sometimes  squandered  for  purposes 
injurious  to  the  character  and  morals  of  the  people. 

"We  therefore  feel  it  to  be  our  duty  to  represent  to  your 
Majesty  that  the  existing  municipal  corporations  of  England 
and  Wales  neither  possess  nor  deserve  the  confidence  or  re- 
spect of  your  Majesty's  subjects,  and  that  a  thorough  reform 
must  be  effected  before  they  can  become  what  we  humbly 
submit  to  your  Majesty  they  ought  to  be,  useful  and  efficient 
instruments  of  local  government." 


16  THE  BKITISII  CITY 

tion  in  Great  Britain  were  laid  by  the  Municipal 
Corporation  Act  of  1835.  This  was  but  part  of  a 
larger  reform  movement  that  was  destined  to  shake 
the  ascendancy  of  the  landed  gentry  and  give  to 
the  commercial  classes  rising  into  power  through 
the  Industrial  Kevolution  representation  in  Parlia- 
ment. This  measure  swept  away  the  age-long  abuses 
of  the  towns  and  ushered  in  a  new  era,  from  which 
industrial  democracy  has  sprung.  It  greatly  ex- 
tended the  suffrage  and  lodged  the  government  of 
the  towns  in  the  hands  of  the  tax-payers.  It  pro- 
vided for  a  council  and  mayor  with  substantially 
the  same  form  of  administration  that  prevails  to- 
day. 

The  measure  met  wilh  determined  opposition  in 
Parliament,  for  it  destroyed  the  means  by  which 
the  privileged  classes  had  retained  their  control  of 
the  House  of  Commons  through  a  control  of  the 
machinery  of  determining  who  should  vote.  Further 
than  this,  the  classes  in  control  of  the  cities  were 
by  this  measure  deprived  of  the  privileges  and  fran- 
chises through  which  they  oppressed  the  people. 
But  it  was  not  so  much  the  abuses  as  the  utter 
breakdown  of  local  government  and  the  demands 
of  humanity  and  business  interests  that  compelled 
the  passage  of  the  bill.  The  coming  of  the  factory 
system  had  called  into  existence  great  towns,  filled 
with  a  multitude  of  factory  workers,  for  the  care 
of  which  the  towns  were  totally  unprepared.    Men 


BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCRACY  17 

and  women  from  the  countryside  had  come  to  work 
in  the  towns  at  looms  and  spinning  frames,  and  the 
misery,  poverty,  disease  and  degradation  which  fol- 
lowed was  so  universal  that  Parliament  could  not 
longer  ignore  the  demand  for  relief.  For  the  an- 
cient organisations  had  no  authority  to  undertake 
the  construction  of  streets  and  sewers,  to  police  and 
guard  the  towns,  or  to  levy  taxes  for  their  mainte- 
nance. And  louder  even  than  the  demands  of  hu- 
manity was  the  voice  of  the  commercial  classes, 
grown  to  wealth  and  power  through  the  expansion 
of  trade.  It  is  upon  this  measure  and  the  Reform 
Bill  of  1832  that  all  of  the  later  democratic  achieve- 
ments of  Great  Britain  have  been  reared. 

Since  the  passage  of  the  Municipal  Corporations 
Act  of  1835,  frequent  attempts  have  been  made  to 
co-ordinate  local  government.  The  chief  of  these 
are  the  local  government  acts  of  1882  and  1894  and 
the  London  Government  Acts  of  1888  and  1899. 
The  areas  now  established  for  purposes  of  local  gov- 
ernment are  the  Administrative  County,  the  County 
Borough,  the  Municipal  Borough,  the  Urban  Dis- 
trict, the  Rural  District  and  the  Parish.  The  Poor 
Law  Union  is  an  area  for  the  relief  of  the  poor.  It 
is  formed  from  a  group  of  parishes.  The  metropolis 
of  London  is  governed  by  special  acts.  The  county 
areas  have  a  form  of  organisation  not  unlike  the 
towns.  They  have  a  council,  aldermen  and  chair- 
men.   They  borrow  money  and  enjoy  many  munici- 


18  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

pal  powers.  They  are  designed  to  permit  the  rural 
districts  to  carry  on  the  vast  amount  of  administra- 
tive work  rendered  necessary  by  the  dense  popu- 
lation of  Great  Britain.  In  addition  to  these  gen- 
eral authorities,  there  are  many  local  and  special 
Boards  for  the  administration  of  Ports  and  Docks, 
of  Sewers  and  Drainage,  of  Rivers,  Asylums  and 
Cemeteries.  By  the  Education  Act  of  1902  the 
Councils  have  been  entrusted  with  the  control  of 
education. 

But  we  are  chiefly  concerned  with  the  Munici- 
pal Boroughs  proper.  They  range  in  size  from 
Liverpool,  with  a  population  of  725,000,  to  Hedon, 
with  a  population  of  but  1020.  Their  powers  are 
derived  from  the  Municipal  Corporation  Act  of 
1882,  which  repealed  the  original  act  of  1835  as 
well  as  many  subsequent  measures.  There  are 
about  320  such  corporations  in  England  and 
Wales. 

Thus  it  was  that  democracy  in  Great  Britain 
sprang  from  local  government,  just  as  in  the  Mid- 
dle Ages  liberty  sprang  from  the  towns  in  the 
struggle  with  feudalism.  And  history  nowhere  pre- 
sents a  completer  vindication  of  the  trustworthi- 
ness of  the  people  than  the  history  of  local  govern- 
ment during  the  past  three-quarters  of  a  century  in 
Great  Britain.  Where  privilege  failed,  democracy 
achieved  its  greatest  triumph.  Amid  ignorance  and 
poverty  the  most  complex  problems  of  government 


BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCRACY  19 

existed.  The  people  were  for  the  most  part  un- 
trained. They  were  inexperienced  in  political  ac- 
tivities. For  centuries  they  had  been  bought  and 
sold  in  furtherance  of  the  designs  of  the  privileged 
classes. 

It  is  the  Briton's  boast  that  he  cares  nothing 
for  political  abstractions,  that  he  is  moved  by  no 
philosophy  of  government,  and  advances  from 
point  to  point  with  his  hand  ever  resting  on  the 
past,  ready  to  retire  in  case  of  error.  Any  grant 
of  liberty  to  the  towns,  any  extension  of  freedom 
by  Parliament,  is  grudgingly  granted,  and  so  in- 
volved with  limitations  that  its  value  is  largely 
destroyed.  The  powers  of  local  governing  agencies 
have  not  been  conferred  in  a  big,  generous  way. 
They  have  been  divided  among  parishes,  poor- 
boards,  town  and  rural  councils,  in  a  way  that  is 
both  confusing  and  costly.  It  is  almost  impossible 
for  anyone,  save  a  trained  expert,  to  know  the  func- 
tions and  powers  of  a  large  city  like  London  or 
Glasgow.  For  while  there  are  general  acts  govern- 
ing the  health  and  housing,  cleaning  and  lighting, 
the  police  force,  and  other  routine  departments, 
there  is  also  a  multitude  of  special  laws,  with 
countless  limitations  and  qualifications,  which 
make  it  necessary  for  the  city  to  act  with  the  most 
scrupulous  care  in  the  carrying  on  of  its  activities. 

It  is  in  the  face  of  such  survivals  of  ancient  insti- 
tutions and  anomalous  burdens   that   local   govern- 


20  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

merit  is  carried  on.  It  is  partly  feudal,  partly 
modern.  The  influence  of  the  church  is  interwoven 
with  the  modern  impulses  of  democracy.  Local 
government  is  subjected  to  constant  Parliamentary 
oversight.  Despite  this  fact,  the  municipalities  are 
almost  the  only  political  agencies  in  England  that 
do  not  suggest  the  seventeenth  rather  than  the 
twentieth  century.  Even  to-day,  the  Corporation 
of  London,  the  ancient  city  which  nestles  around 
the  Mansion  House  and  the  Bank  of  England,  has  a 
charter  which  runs  back  to  the  time  of  the  trading 
guilds.  It  is  an  historic  survival  of  the  ancient 
commercial  organisations,  which  were  elsewhere 
abolished  by  the  act  of  1835.  The  corporation  still 
remains  a  privileged  body  not  unlike  the  unre- 
formed  towns  of  the  seventeenth  century.  On  the 
creation  of  the  London  County  Council  in  1888  its 
privileges  and  abuses  were  deemed  too  sacred  to 
be  touched.  It  was  left  intact  as  a  separate  city, 
with  full  municipal  powers,  in  the  very  heart  of 
the  metropolis.  It  is  known  as  the  "Mayor  and 
Commonalty  and  Citizens  of  the  City  of  London." 
The  Lord  Mayor  resides  in  the  Mansion  House, 
opposite  the  Bank  of  England,  where  he  still  retains 
much  of  the  feudal  pomp  and  splendour  of  a  little 
king,  alongside  of  one  of  the  most  democratic  city 
republics  in  the  modern  world.  The  government 
still  reposes  in  the  seventy-three  Livery  Com- 
panies, survivals  of    the    ancient    guilds  of  gold* 


BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCRACY  21 

smiths,  silversmiths,  drapers,  furriers,  etc.,  with  a 
membership  of  about  8,500  persons.  These  com- 
panies possess  property  in  excess  of  a  hundred  mil- 
lion dollars.  They  enjoy  an  annual  income  of  more 
than  five  million  dollars.  This  is  a  trust  fund  of  a 
public  nature.  Of  this  sum  the  companies  pay  over 
|200,000  a  year  to  themselves  in  fees,  and  spend  at 
least  $500,000  more  in  dinners  and  feasting;  $750,- 
000  more  goes  in  salaries  to  officers  and  expenses 
of  management,  while  $2,500,000  is  devoted  to  pub- 
lic uses  of  one  kind  and  another.  "The  whole  ad- 
ministration of  this  essentially  public  property," 
says  Sidney  Webb,  "is  performed  in  secret,  by  small 
committees,  which  nominate  themselves,  and  ac- 
knowledge no  responsibility  to  anyone.  No  public 
superintendence  controls  their  jobbery;  no  public 
audit  checks  their  waste."1 

These  companies  own  great  landed  estates  in 
England  and  Ireland.  Some  of  them  are  among 
the  great  London  landlords.  The  twelve  great  Liv- 
ery Companies  share  among  them  the  Ulster  estates 
of  the  Irish  Society;  and  in  addition,  nearly  all  of 
them  possess  valuable  freehold  "Halls,"  hidden 
away  in  back  streets  in  London,  and  surplus  funds 
invested  in  consols  or  lodged  on  deposit  with  the 
Bank  of  England.2 

No  one  really  knows  the  wealth  of  these  great 

'The  London  Programme,  by  Sidney  Webb,  p.  104. 
Ubid,  p.  105. 


22  THE  BKITISII  CITY 

companies,  accumulated  and  increased  in  value  for 
•centuries.  They  have  been  able  to  thwart  any  thor- 
ough discovery  by  Parliament,  and  thus  far  have 
prevented  the  abolition  of  their  abuses  and  the 
merging  of  the  City  Corporation  into  the  metro- 
politan area  of  London  proper.  Here  at  the  very 
doors  of  Parliament  remains  a  survival  of  the  Town 
Corporation  of  the  seventeenth  century.  It  is  the 
financial  heart  of  the  United  Kingdom.  It  has  a 
population  of  less  than  30,000  by  night,  and  over 
300,000  by  day.  It  is  reactionary  in  the  extreme. 
Its  misuse  of  funds  of  a  public  nature  is  fully  as 
scandalous  as  the  corruption  of  any  unreformed 
American  city.  True  the  powers  which  it  exercises 
are  sanctioned  by  law.  There  is  no  violation  of  the 
criminal  code.  The  funds  which  it  uses  are  a  heri- 
tage from  the  time  when  the  towns  were  in  the 
hands  of  the  merchant  guilds.  But  ever  since  the 
reforms  of  1835  the  Corporation  of  London  has  been 
so  powerful,  so  respectable,  so  ancient  in  its  privi- 
leges, that  democracy  has  never  been  able  to  bring 
about  its  reform.  Democracy  halts  at  its  bounda- 
ries, just  as  until  recently  the  reigning  monarch 
of  the  United  Kingdom  halted  at  Temple  Bar  to 
receive  permission  from  the  Lord  Mayor  of  the  an- 
cient city  to  enter  its  gates.  Side  by  side  are  the 
London  County  Council,  the  most  democratic  of 
English  bodies,  and  the  Corporation  of  London, 
whose  extravagances  and  general  inefficiency  offer 


BEGINNINGS  OF  DEMOCRACY  23 

an  eloquent  exhibit  of  government  by  privilege. 
Here  in  the  heart  of  the  Empire  may  be  seen  at 
work  the  two  great  powers  which  contend  for  mas- 
tery throughout  the  civilised  world,  the  powers  of 
democracy  on  the  one  hand  and  of  privilege  on  the 
other. 


CHAPTER  III 

THE  TOWN  COUNCIL 

All  of  the  powers  which  the  British  city  enjoys 
are  lodged  in  the  Town  Council.  The  division  of 
authority  with  which  we  are  familiar,  between  the 
Council,  the  Mayor,  the  executive  departments,  and 
commissions,  does  not  exist.  That  is  an  American 
innovation,  adapted  by  us  from  the  Federal  Con- 
stitution to  local  administration.  The  British 
Council  not  only  passes  ordinances,  it  executes 
them.  And  in  some  towns  a  limited  number  of  al- 
dermen sit  as  police  court  magistrates  to  punish 
those  who  infringe  its  laws.  Within  the  local  area, 
the  Council  is  the  supreme  legislative  and  executive 
authority.1 

irrhe  terms  city,  town,  or  borough,  are  used  throughout  the 
text  in  the  American  sense,  as  synonymous  with  municipal 
corporation.  Most  of  the  English  cities  are  technically  bor- 
oughs. The  borough  is  a  municipal  corporation  which  has 
received  its  charter  of  incorporation  from  the  Crown  under 
the  act  of  1882.  Certain  boroughs,  however,  rank  as  cities. 
This  is  either  because  they  are  the  seat  of  a  Bishop,  or  be- 
cause that  dignity  has  been  conferred  upon  them  by  the  Crown. 
Canterbury,  Carlisle,  Chester,  Chichester,  Coventry,  Glouces- 
ter, Hereford,  Lincoln,  Litchfield,  Oxford,  and  other  towns,  are 
cities,  while  many  of  the  larger  industrial  towns  are  boroughs. 
But  there  is  no  real  distinction  in  the  powers  and  functions. 
The  difference  is  chiefly  one  of  historical   significance,   and 

24 


THE  TOWN  COUNCIL  25 

In  this  respect  the  charters  of  all  cities  are  alike. 
There  is  not  that  diversity  in  the  form  of  the  char- 
ter, nor  that  attempted  adaptation  to  local  needs, 
which  exists  in  America.  A  knowledge  of  the  gen- 
eral form  of  government  of  one  city  is  a  knowledge 
of  the  forms  of  all.1 

The  Mayor,  as  he  is  called  in  England,  or  Provost, 
as  he  is  called  in  Scotland,  is  usually  a  councilman 
exalted  to  a  higher  degree.  In  certain  cities  he  is 
called  the  Lord  Mayor.  In  England  he  is  chosen 
for  one  year,  in  Scotland  for  three.  He  represents 
a  ward,  and  is  responsible  to  his  constituents,  like 
the  rest  of  the  Council.  He  may,  however,  be  elected 
from  outside  of  the  Council,  although  this  is  rarely 
done.  Unlike  the  xlmerican  executive,  he  is  chosen 
by  the  members  of  the  Council,  and  not  by  the  peo- 
ple. The  Mayor  does  not  enjoy  much  legal  author- 
ity. He  is  democracy's  shadowy  monarch,  without 
privilege  or  power.  He  represents  the  "spectacu- 
lar" element  in  city  life.  For  the  Mayor  makes  no 
appointments,  has  no  veto  power,  and  does  not 
stand  for  a  policy  of  administration  in  the  large 
way  that  an  American  mayor  does.    He  is  the  ser- 

relates  to  the  distinction  which  the  seat  of  a  Bishop  conferred, 
or  which  has  been  retained  as  a  privilege  conferred  at  some 
earlier  time  by  the  King. 

'In  many  towns,  special  boards  or  trusts  have  been  created 
to  manage  certain  undertakings,  as  Dock  Trusts,  Water  and 
Gas  Boards,  when  two  cities  are  jointly  interested.  In  London, 
many  such  special  authorities  have  been  created.  But  the 
general  form  of  administration  is  everywhere  the  same. 


26  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

vant  of  the  Council,  the  chief  among  equals.  What- 
ever ascendancy  he  enjoys  is  due  to  his  personality. 
He  is,  however  no  roi  faineant.  He  is  the  busiest 
and  most  influential  member  of  the  community.  In 
the  larger  towns  his  office  is  the  goal  of  local  ambi- 
tion. The  mayoralty  is  the  object  of  successful  busi- 
ness, the  reward  of  long  service  to  the  community. 
The  Mayor  presides  over  the  Council,  and  is  an  ex- 
officio  member  of  all  committees.  He  has  many  offi- 
cial emblems,  is  permitted  to  wear  a  robe  of  rich 
ermine,  and  the  town  jewels.  He  has  the  use  of  the 
coach  and  pair  belonging  to  the  corporation.  In 
the  cities  of  London,  Liverpool,  Dublin,  and  else- 
where, he  occupies  a  stately  mansion  in  the  heart  of 
the  city.  In  the  larger  towns  he  is  usually  knighted 
by  the  King  on  the  expiration  of  his  term  of  office. 
His  real  distinction  is  a  social  rather  than  an 
administrative  one.  He  receives  the  King  when- 
ever the  town  is  honoured  by  the  Koyal  presence. 
He  entertains  distinguished  guests,  and  presides  at 
all  public  functions.  His  life  is  given  over  to  the 
titular  representation  of  his  city.  He  addresses 
meetings,  clubs,  and  labour  unions.  He  opens  con- 
ventions, bazaars,  and  charitable  enterprises.  His 
days  are  filled  with  engagements.  His  evenings  are 
occupied  in  much  the  same  way.  He  is  frequently 
called  upon  to  adjust  labour  disputes.  The  mayor- 
alty is  the  reward  of  long  and  sacrificing  service  to 
the  community.    It  is  the  crowning  glory  of  a  demo- 


THE  TOWN  COUNCIL  27 

cratic  career.  For  it  is  open  to  all,  and  is  generally 
held  by  men  whose  individual  exertions  have 
achieved  their  political  and  business  careers. 

For  his  services  the  Mayor  receives  no  compen- 
sation. No  salary  of  any  kind  attaches  to  the  office. 
In  the  large  cities  the  office  is  a  source  of  expense. 
For  the  Mayor  must  be  generous.  He  must  enter- 
tain handsomely;  he  must  be  prepared  to  neglect 
his  private  business  during  his  term  of  office.  The 
burden  on  his  purse  may  amount  to  thousands  of 
dollars  a  year.  But  men  are  eager  and  willing  to 
make  this  sacrifice,  even  though  it  involves  long 
years  of  unremunerative  service  in  the  Town  Coun- 
cil. Many  cities  have  recognised  the  impropriety 
of  throwing  this  financial  burden  upon  the  Mayor, 
and  have  made  appropriations  to  cover  some  of  the 
obligations  which  it  involves.  But  the  cost  is  still 
a  heavy  one,  even  aside  from  the  exclusive  demands 
which  it  makes  upon  a  man's  time.1 

The  actual  administrative  work  of  the  city  is 
performed  by  the  Town  Council.  The  Council  is 
a  large  body.  It  is  as  large  as  many  of  our  state 
assemblies.  It  acts  through  committees.  Each 
member  of  the  Council  serves  upon  a  half  dozen  or 
more.    There  are  from  a  dozen  to  thirty  such  com- 

irThis  description  of  the  Mayor  and  his  position  does  not,  of 
course,  apply  to  the  smaller  communities.  The  organisation 
of  the  Scottish  municipalities  is  essentially  the  same  as  here 
described,  although  many  differences  exist  as  to  aldermen, 
magistrates,  powers,  etc. 


28  THE  BEITISII  CITY 

mittees,  the  more  important  of  which  are  still 
further  subdivided  into  smaller  sub-committees. 

The  members  of  the  Council  are  elected  for  three 
years,  and  are  chosen  by  wards.  There  are  also  a 
number  of  aldermen  who  sit  with  the  elective  mem- 
bers and  enjoy  the  same  powers.  They  are  chosen 
by  the  Council  immediately  after  the  election  in 
November.  One-third  of  the  councillors  are  elected 
every  year.  The  aldermen  are  chosen  for  six  years 
and  one-half  of  them  retire  every  three  years. 
The  latter  are  usually  distinguished  men,  who 
have  served  as  members  of  the  Council,  or  who 
are  eminent  in  some  line  of  municipal  work.  The 
London  County  Council  has  118  elected  members, 
chosen  from  parliamentary  constituencies,  and 
nineteen  Aldermen  elected  by  the  Council  itself- 
The  Council  of  Glasgow  has  75  members.  The  City 
of  Liverpool  has  134,  and  Manchester  has  103.  The 
Councils  of  the  lesser  towns  are  correspondingly 
smaller.  The  Mayor,  Aldermen,  and  Councillors 
together  form  the  Town  Council,  and  sit  together  as 
a  single  chamber. 

In  America  the  tendency  is  away  from  the  large 
Council.  Kecent  charters  have  abandoned  the  two- 
chambered  assembly,  and  reform  organisations  have 
recommended  the  reduction  of  the  Council  to  a 
small,  compact  body.  A  tendency  is  also  manifest 
to  elect  at  least  a  portion  of  the  members  on  a  gen- 
eral ticket  from  the  entire  city.    It  is  said  that  a 


THE  TOWN  COUNCIL  29 

better  class  of  men  can  be  induced  to  run  for  the 
Council  if  it  is  a  smaller  body,  with  the  members 
elected  at  large.  Having  found  that  election  by 
wards  failed  to  bring  forward  satisfactory  men,  we 
have  sought  relief  through  enlarging  the  constitu- 
ency and  reducing  the  number  of  men  to  be  chosen. 
The  English  type  of  the  large  Council  was  quite 
universal  in  America  up  to  a  generation  ago,  when 
the  failure  of  local  administration  led  to  a  very 
general  modification  of  the  machinery,  in  the  belief 
that  our  failures  were  traceable  to  the  size  of  the 
Council.  In  consequence,  we  limited  its  powers, 
and  placed  our  reliance  upon  a  strong  executive. 
We  have  made  of  the  Mayor  a  benevolent  patriarch, 
in  the  belief  that  we  can  hold  one  official  to  respon- 
sibility more  easily  than  we  can  hold  fifty.  The 
Council  of  the  American  city  has  become  a  sort  of 
political  vermiform  appendix.  Through  this  subor- 
dination of  the  Council,  at  least  in  the  large  cities, 
we  are  really  governed  by  the  Mayor.  So  far  as 
real  power  is  concerned,  it  has  passed  into  his 
hands,  and  the  hands  of  those  associated  with  him 
as  executive  officials. 

There  is  some  reason  for  this  change.  City  gov- 
ernment is  administration.  Ordinances  are  not  un- 
like the  decrees  of  the  Praetors  of  ancient  Rome. 
They  relate  to  the  details  of  a  big  business.  They 
concern  the  health,  the  protection,  the  cleanliness, 
the  education,  the  comfort,  the  happiness  of  the 


30  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

people.  They  are  legislative  only  in  occasional  in- 
stances, such  as  granting  franchises,  determining 
how  revenue  shall  be  raised,  how  much,  money  shall 
be  appropriated,  and  deciding  matters  of  a  large 
city  policy.  And  these  administrative  matters  can 
be  determined  by  a  small  body  as  readily  and  as 
wisely  as  by  a  large  one.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  they 
are  usually  so  determined  even  where  the  Mayor's 
legal  powers  have  not  been  enlarged.  For  the  Coun- 
cil has  become  little  more  than  a  registering  body 
guided  by  the  opinions  of  the  departmental  heads. 

The  organisation  of  the  English  city  is  far  differ- 
ent. The  executive  work  of  each  department  is  per- 
formed by  its  special  committee.  That  they  have 
achieved  success  where  we  have  failed  does  not 
argue  that  we  should  return  to  the  English  model, 
any  more  than  it  proves  that  the  theoretical  cor- 
rectness of  our  system  should  urge  its  adoption  in 
Great  Britain.  Causes  other  than  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment explain  the  efficiency  and  honesty  of  the 
English  city. 

Each  committee  appoints  the  manager  and  super- 
intendent of  its  department,  subject  to  the  approval 
of  the  Council.  Through  these  heads  the  work  of 
the  city  is  carried  on.  The  managers  are  chosen 
because  of  their  recognised  fitness,  and  are  usually 
trained  to  a  municipal  career.  Not  infrequently, 
men  are  called  from  one  city  to  the  other,  much  as 
the  German  Mayor  who  has  distinguished  himself 


THE  TOWN  COUNCIL  31 

is  promoted.  The  aim  is  to  find  the  man  for  the 
place,  rather  than  to  make  a  place  for  a  man.  Sub- 
ordinates are  employed  by  the  managers.  They  are 
chosen  by  a  competitive  process  not  unlike  that 
which  a  business  man  employs.  For  there  is  no 
compulsory  civil  service  law  in  the  English  city. 
Merit  is  enforced  by  public  opinion.  The  filling  of 
a  place  through  friendship  or  favour  is  of  occa- 
sional though  rare  occurrence.  And  once  appoint- 
ed, an  employee  retains  his  position  so  long  as  his 
service  is  satisfactory. 

This  sense  of  permanence  in  city  work,  as  well 
as  the  better  pay  and  more  generous  consideration 
shown  the  employee,  has  given  dignity  to  municipal 
employment.  There  has  come  into  existence  an 
esprit  de  corps  and  a  jealous  rivalry  for  promotion. 
The  city  often  provides  superannuation  funds  and 
sick  benefits.  It  offers  shorter  hours,  and  usually 
recognises  the  trade-union  rate  of  wages.  But  it  is 
not  alone  the  material  advantage  of  municipal  work 
that  makes  it  preferable  to  private  employment. 
There  is  a  sense  of  dignity  that  comes  from  work- 
ing for  the  city.  It  is  a  sense  of  noblesse  oblige 
which  animates  the  street  cleaner  as  well  as  the 
city  chamberlain.  This  is  a  consideration  always 
overlooked  in  our  low  estimate  of  the  city  job 
hunter.  But  to  some  extent,  even  in  America,  it 
relieves  the  alleged  inefficiency  of  the  public  em- 
ployee. 


32  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

The  committees  are  entrusted  with  the  expendi- 
ture of  the  appropriations  for  their  departments, 
subject  to  the  approval  and  criticism  of  the  Council. 
They  fix  salaries  and  wages.  They  determine  the 
details  of  departmental  control  and  keep  in  close 
touch  with  the  work.  The  labour  of  an  important 
committee  is  very  arduous.  Many  men  are  on  a 
half-dozen  committees.  Some  serve  on  even  more. 
A  Councilman's  hours  are  filled  with  engagements, 
which  he  is  usually  scrupulous  in  attending.  If  he 
is  a  magistrate,  he  has  daily  engagements  at  the 
Police  Court,  and  if  he  is  in  the  midst  of  an  election, 
he  may  not  see  his  home  from  early  morning  until 
late  at  night.  For  all  this  service  he  receives  no 
pecuniary  compensation.  A  luncheon  may  be  served 
for  his  committee  at  the  Town  Hall,  it  is  true.  But 
woe  to  the  committee  whose  luncheon  budget  seems 
to  indicate  too  large  a  wine  bill.  For  the  elective 
auditors  and  the  labour  members  often  find  in  a 
few  unnecessary  sovereigns  ground  for  complaint 
as  impassioned  as  the  report  of  a  grand  jury  inves- 
tigating the  corruption  of  an  American  city. 

To  return  to  the  Town  Council.  The  method  of 
election  to  that  body  is  simple  in  the  extreme.  It 
is  also  very  democratic.  It  involves  little  or  no  cost 
to  the  candidate.  A  man  is  put  forward  for  the 
place  by  a  committee  of  the  ward.  He  is  nominated 
by  two  electors  and  endorsed  by  eight  seconders. 
This  is  the  only  formality  required  to  get  on  the 


THE  TOWN  COUNCIL  33 

ticket.  It  is  usually  managed  by  the  party  com- 
mittee. It  is  nomination  by  petition.  This  ex- 
plains in  part  the  high  type  of  men  who  enter  mu- 
nicipal life.  There  are  no  assessments  to  be  paid 
to  a  party  machine.  There  is  no  boss  to  be  pla- 
cated. There  are  no  pledges  to  be  made,  save  those 
that  a  man  makes  to  his  constituents.  There  may  be 
but  one  candidate  from  a  ward,  or  there  may  be  a 
dozen.  Very  often  there  is  no  contest.  A  Council- 
man whose  service  has  been  satisfactory  will  remain 
in  office  a  score  of  years,  and  never  have  his  seat 
questioned.  For  politics  do  not  determine  the 
question  of  the  choice  of  a  man.  The  question  is 
rather  the  efficiency  of  his  service.  In  some  of  the 
cities,  however,  political  lines  are  as  sharply  drawn 
as  in  America.  But  generally  the  election  is  de- 
termined, as  nearly  as  popular  opinion  can  deter- 
mine such  things,  by  the  merit  of  the  candidates. 

The  election  is  as  simple  as  the  nomination.  The 
English  elector  decides  one  day  whom  he  wants  for 
Councilman.  On  some  other  day  he  decides  whom 
he  wants  to  serve  in  Parliament.  The  parish  elec- 
tions are  held  annually  in  April ;  the  county  elec- 
tions are  held  triennially  in  March ;  the  municipal 
elections  are  held  annually  in  November;  and  the 
school-board  elections  are  held  triennially  from 
the  date  of  the  formation  of  each  board.  The  prin- 
cipal officials  whom  the  English  voter  elects  are 
the  member  of  the  Council  from  his  ward  and  the 


34  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

member  of  Parliament  from  his  district.  These, 
with  the  members  of  the  Parish,  School  and  Poor 
Law  Board,  are  about  the  only  offices  he  is 
called  upon  to  fill.  When  he  goes  to  the  polls 
he  is  not  confronted  with  a  long  list  of  Presidential 
electors,  Governors,  Congressmen,  members  of  the 
Legislature,  Judges,  county,  township  and  city  offi- 
cials, all  on  one  ballot,  with  many  of  whom  he  is 
not  even  familiar  by  name. 

There  is  a  great  advantage  in  the  English  system 
of  holding  elections  on  different  days  and  limiting 
the  number  of  officers  to  be  chosen  directly  by  the 
people.  It  is  absurd  to  expect  a  man  to  vote  intelli- 
gently for  a  score  or  more  offices,  from  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States  to  the  Police  Court  Clerk, 
and  with  a  hundred  names  to  choose  from.  With 
great  benefit  we  could  limit  the  number  of  elective 
city  officials  to  the  Mayor  and  ward  Councilman, 
as  is  done  in  many  cities,  and  have  all  the  other 
administrative  offices  filled  by  the  Mayor.  There 
is  nothing  undemocratic  in  having  the  Solicitor, 
Treasurer,  Auditor,  and  Police  Court  magistrates 
so  appointed.  Under  such  a  scheme  there  would 
be  unity  of  administration  and  complete  responsi- 
bility to  the  people,  with  the  minimum  of  confusion 
to  the  voter. 

In  Britain  it  is  not  necessary  that  the  candidate 
for  the  Council  live  in  the  ward  which  he  repre- 
sents.   He  may  come  from  any  section  of  the  city. 


THE  TOWN  COUNCIL  35 

He  may  even  resign  in  one  ward  and  run  from 
another.  This  gives  an  added  independence  of 
action  to  a  Councilman.  It  also  enables  the  city 
to  secure  the  services  of  the  best  man  in  the  com- 
munity. 

In  recent  years  the  character  of  the  Town  Coun- 
cils has  been  changing.  Many  men  admit  this  with 
regret.  The  "gentlemen"  are  being  crowded  out, 
the  working  men  are  coming  in.  And  the  average 
Englishman  is  tenacious  of  the  idea  that  politics, 
the  church  and  the  army  are  places  set  apart  for 
"gentlemen."  Up  to  the  last  election  he  never 
doubted  this  fact  as  to  Parliament,  and  conceded 
the  presence  of  labour  members  in  the  City  Council 
only  with  grave  questionings.  The  man  who  would 
spend  lavishly,  who  was  a  generous  employer  of 
labour,  or  who  headed  every  movement  for  charity, 
has  always  been  the  average  Englishman's  idea  of 
the  representative  of  the  ruling  class.  It  is  this 
tradition  that  has  kept  the  rural  districts  con- 
servative and  the  working  classes  from  obtaining 
control  of  the  cities.  But  the  tradition  has  been 
shattered.  First  of  all,  the  wage-earner  found  his 
way  into  the  Council.  In  time,  other  classes  came 
to  respect  his  integrity  no  less  than  his  ability.  All 
over  England  the  labour  members  are  on  the  in- 
crease in  the  Town  Councils.  Many  of  them  are 
socialists  in  name  and  in  purpose,  but  their  pro- 
gramme is  one  of  gradual  advance  all  along  the 


36  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

line  of  industrial  activity.  There  are  twelve  such 
members  in  the  Glasgow  Council.  In  Sheffield,  the 
labour  members  are  even  more  numerous,  while 
Poplar,  Battersea,  and  West  Ham  are  recognised 
as  workingmen's  councils.  And  it  was  the  experi- 
ence gained  in  local  government  that  emboldened 
the  Independent  Labour  party  in  the  recent  Parlia- 
mentary contest.  This  explains,  in  part,  the  thirty 
odd  labour  members  in  the  House  of  Commons. 
And  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  labour  members 
have  been  earnest  and  conscientious.  They  have 
never  been  charged  with  corruption,  rarely  with 
the  creation  of  unnecessary  jobs,  or  unreasonable 
increase  in  wages  or  means  of  employment. 

In  every  city  there  is  a  generous  sprinkling  of 
men  of  leisure  in  the  Council,  men  who  have  retired 
from  active  life  and  who  desire  to  serve  their  com- 
munity. In  the  early  days  of  the  London  County 
Council,  Lord  Kosebery  was  its  Chairman.  It  also 
contained  in  its  membership  Sir  John  Lubbock, 
Frederic  Harrison,  and  a  score  of  professional  men. 
In  other  cities  the  same  sort  of  man  is  found.  But 
the  prevailing  type  is  the  small  business  man  who 
has  risen,  and  who  desires  to  round  out  his  life  by 
some  kind  of  public  service. 

The  Town  Clerk  is  the  most  dignified  salaried 
official  of  the  Council.  He  is  much  more  than 
Clerk.  He  is  the  legal  adviser  of  the  corporation. 
He  knows  everything,  does  everything,  and  is  held 


THE  TOWN  COUNCIL  37 

responsible  for  everything.  He  is  highly  salaried, 
the  remuneration  in  some  instances  running  up  to 
$15,000  per  annum.  He  is  an  expert  in  municipal 
administration,  much  like  the  German  Mayor,  and 
usually  holds  his  office  for  life,  irrespective  of  the 
political  colour  of  the  Council.  Councils  often  go 
to  another  city  in  their  choice  of  a  clerk.  Glasgow 
recently  advertised  for  candidates  from  all  Great 
Britain.  She  desired  to  find  the  best  man  in  the 
Kingdom  for  this  office.  The  clerkship  is  the  clear- 
ing house  of  the  Council.  The  clerk  is  the  secre- 
tary of  all  committees.  He  is  their  adviser  on  all 
legal  matters,  and  has  charge  of  the  archives  of  the 
city.  The  office  not  only  carries  with  it  consider- 
able local  dignity,  it  also  requires  a  trained,  highly 
skilled  official. 

This  is  the  skeleton  of  local  administration  in 
Great  Britain.  The  activities  of  the  Town  Council 
are  limited  to  city  administration  proper.  The 
form  of  organisation  is  the  same  in  all.  But  the 
powers  of  the  Councils  are  not  as  adequate  as  their 
efficiency  would  seem  to  warrant.  In  the  matter 
of  police,  fire,  health,  street,  and  other  routine  ad- 
ministration, they  have  a  free  rein.  But  there  is 
little  home  rule  in  the  sense  that  is  demanded  in 
America.  The  supervision  of  Parliament  in  mat- 
ters of  finance  and  taxation,  in  the  undertaking  and 
management  of  new  industries,  in  the  regulations 
of  the  franchise  corporations  and  the  tenements,  in 


38  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

the  condemnation  and  purchase  of  land,  is  con- 
stant. While  the  English  city  has  gone  in  for  many 
enterprises  of  a  remunerative  character,  this  has 
not  been  done  as  a  matter  of  legal  right.  It  has 
only  been  permitted  after  a  searching  enquiry  by 
Parliament.  In  this  respect  the  English  city  is 
more  limited  in  its  general  powers  than  is  the 
American  city. 

In  addition  to  the  Town  Council  there  are  many 
isolated  boards  and  commissions.  The  care  of  the 
poor  is  in  the  hands  of  the  Board  of  Guardians. 
The  docks  are  usually  under  separate  management. 
The  gas  and  water  undertakings  of  Edinburgh  are 
under  a  joint  body  of  several  towns.  In  London, 
the  water  supply  is  under  the  control  of  a  separate 
board,  as  are  the  docks  on  the  Thames.  The  police 
of  the  metropolis  are  governed  by  Parliament  di- 
rectly through  the  Home  Office. 

The  members  of  the  Town  Councils,  as  well  as 
other  local  authorities,  are  highly  respected.  While 
a  majority  of  them  do  not  come  from  the  leisure 
class,  they  are  men  who  command  the  confidence 
of  the  community.  Earnestness  is  the  prevailing 
note  in  municipal  politics.  The  problems  of  the 
city  are  met  with  a  seriousness  that  promises  their 
ultimate  solution.  Council  meetings  are  well  at- 
tended, and  the  discussions  are  warm  and  animated. 
The  line  of  cleavage  among  the  members  is  on  eco- 
nomic or  class  lines.     And  it  is  daily  becoming 


THE  TOWN  COUNCIL  39 

more  pronounced.  On  the  one  hand  are  the  labour 
members  and  the  radicals.  On  the  other  are  the 
leisure  classes,  the  business  men,  and  the  heavy 
rate-payers.  These  divided  interests  are  in  constant 
conflict  over  municipal  ownership,  trading,  the 
housing  question,  and  the  direct  employment  of 
labour.  The  one  class  is  seeking  the  enlargement  of 
the  city's  activities,  the  abolition  of  the  contractor, 
and  the  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  people. 
The  other  is  jealous  of  its  own  advantage  and  solic- 
itous of  the  burden  of  local  taxation.  The  oncoming 
political  conflict  of  Great  Britain  may  be  discerned 
in  this  division  of  classes.  It  is  a  perfectly  natural 
line  of  division ;  and  it  is  inevitable.  The  unprivi- 
leged classes  are  struggling  for  the  control  of  gov- 
ernment for  the  benefit  of  all  of  the  people,  just 
as  the  land  owners,  the  franchise  corporations,  and 
the  privileged  interests  have  heretofore  controlled 
it  for  the  advantage  of  a  few. 


CHAPTEK  IV 

THE  CITIZEN  AND  THE  CITY 

To  what  is  the  success  of  the  British  city  due? 
Why  is  it  so  efficient,  and  the  members  of  the  Town 
Councils  so  uniformly  honest  and  diligent?  Why 
has  the  spoils  system  no  place  in  a  country  where 
the  struggle  for  existence  is  far  more  relentless 
than  it  is  with  us,  and  the  opportunities  for  ma- 
chine politics  so  greatly  increased  through  the  ex- 
tension of  municipal  trading?  Why  is  there  no 
jobbery,  no  boss,  no  "system"  of  private  interests 
back  of  the  administration?  Why  have  the  cities 
of  England  so  signally  succeeded  where  we  have 
so  generally  failed?  These  are  questions  which 
the  American  people  are  seriously  asking  them- 
selves. 

Most  critics  have  ascribed  the  personal  honesty 
and  efficiency  of  British  local  administration  to  the 
character  of  the  men  who  compose  the  Town  Coun- 
cils. In  Great  Britain,  politics  is  treated  as  a  gen- 
tleman's profession.  The  leisure  classes  are  said 
to  have  given  dignity  to  local  administration  and 
lifted  it  above  reproach.  Honesty  and  efficiency 
are  attributed  to  personal  causes,  to  the  traditions 
and  character  of  the  British  people. 

40 


THE  CITIZEN  AND  THE  CITY  41 

It  is  doubtful  if  this  is  the  true  explanation. 
Certainly  it  is  inadequate.  The  real  cause  lies 
deeper  down.  It  is  to  be  found  in  an  economic, 
not  in  a  personal  or  ethical  cause.  To  understand 
the  spirit  of  the  English  city,  it  is  necessary  to  un- 
derstand the  citizen ;  and  to  understand  the  citizen 
it  is  necessary  to  understand  the  method  of  levying 
local  taxes  and  the  meaning  of  the  city  to  the  peo- 
ple who  compose  it. 

The  English  voter  and  his  closest  political  agent, 
the  Town  Councillor,  are,  before  all  else,  rate- 
payers. They  approach  every  municipal  problem 
with  the  question :  "How  will  it  affect  the  rates?"1 
This  is  the  most  universal  solicitude  of  local  poli- 
tics. It  crops  out  in  every  discussion.  It  is  con- 
stantly heard  in  the  Council  chamber.  It  obtrudes 
in  all  campaign  literature.  When  the  voter  goes 
to  the  polls,  when  the  alderman  passes  upon  an 
undertaking,  he  does  so  with  the  spectre  of  the 
local  rates  constantly  before  him. 

It  may  seem  to  be  going  far  afield  to  find  an 
explanation  of  city  administration  in  so  sordid  a 
thing  as  the  method  of  levying  taxes.  But  it  is 
nevertheless  true  that  a  government  is  profoundly 
affected  by  the  means  adopted  for  the  payment  of 
the  common  bills  of  the  people.     Some  of  the  cor- 


*Taxes  for  the  support  of  local  government  are  called  "rates" 
in  Great  Britain;  those  of  the  Imperial  Government  are  called 
taxes. 


42  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

ruption,  and  most  of  the  extravagances,  of  Congress 
are  traceable  to  our  system  of  indirect  taxation. 
The  people  are  unconscious  of  the  taxes  which  the 
Federal  Government  collects.  They  do  not  feel  the 
burden  of  the  customs  and  excise  system.  The  cost 
of  the  War  and  Navy  Departments,  of  internal  im- 
provements, of  pensions,  of  colonial  administration, 
are  paid  for  out  of  consumption  taxes.  They  are 
not  felt  by  the  voter.  A  billion-dollar  Congress  ex- 
cites little  comment.  It  would  destroy  a  party  if 
its  expenditures  had  to  be  raised  from  an  income 
duty  or  from  taxes  imposed  directly  upon  wealth. 
Local  taxes,  too,  are  levied  upon  property  in  Amer- 
ica. And  as  only  a  limited  number  of  people  own 
their  homes,  or  a  sufficient  amount  of  personalty  to 
be  visited  by  the  assessor,  they  are  unconscious  of 
their  local  burdens.  Land  is  assessed  at  what  it 
will  sell  for,  not  on  the  amount  received  by  the 
owner  in  rent.  Buildings,  machinery,  stocks  and 
bonds  are  valued  at  their  capital  value.  Upon  this 
sum  a  certain  percentage  is  levied  for  local  pur- 
poses. And  the  right  to  vote  has  no  connection 
with  whether  a  man  is  on  the  assessment  roll  or 
not.    The  suffrage  is  a  personal  right. 

In  the  British  city  this  is  not  so.  In  order  to 
vote,  it  is  necessary  to  be  a  rate-  or  tax-payer.  And 
as  local  rates  are  assessed  upon  the  occupier  or 
tenant,  rather  than  upon  the  owner,  the  voter  pays 
directly,  and  he  knows  the  cost  of  the  city  to  him 


THE  CITIZEN  AND  THE  CITY  43 

to  a  penny.  Local  rates  are  fixed  by  the  rental  and 
not  by  the  capital  value  of  the  premises.  It  is 
assumed  that  the  amount  of  rent  a  person  pays  is 
a  proper  measure  of  his  ability  to  pay  taxes.  If  he 
pays  $500  a  year  rental  for  his  house,  his  office,  or 
his  place  of  business,  he  must  pay  (if  the  local  rate 
is  six  shillings  in  the  pound)  $150  more  each 
year  in  taxes.  The  landlord  who  owns  the  prem- 
ises pays  nothing,  or  practically  nothing.  It  is 
not  land,  and  houses,  and  machinery,  and  stocks, 
and  bonds  that  bear  the  burdens  of  local  govern- 
ment. It  is  the  enterprise  of  the  man  who  makes 
use  of  the  property.  This  is  true  of  the  imposing 
office  building.  It  is  true  of  the  smallest  rated  tene- 
ment. It  is  true  of  the  mine  owner  and  the  railway 
operator,  as  it  is  of  the  tenant  farmer.  All  local 
taxes  are  assessed  against  the  occupier,  and  are 
fixed  by  the  rental  value  of  the  premises. 

At  the  same  time,  men  do  not  vote  because  they 
are  citizens.  They  vote  because  they  own  land  or 
pay  a  certain  rental,  which  must  amount  to  fifty 
dollars,  or  ten  pounds,  a  year.  An  unmarried 
woman  may  vote  if  she  has  the  other  qualifications.1 

Practically  all  Englishmen  are  tenants,  and  as 
the  taxes  are  assessed  against  the  occupier,  the  right 

'The  right  to  vote  at  municipal  elections  is  limited  to  male 
persons  over  twenty-one  years  of  age,  who  reside  in  the  bor- 
ough, or  within  seven  miles  of  it,  who  are  rated  for  the  relief 
of  the  poor,  and  are  not  in  arrears  for  taxes,  and  have  not 
received  poor  relief  during  the  preceding  twelve  months.  The 
voter  must  also  have  been  in  occupation  of  his  premises  on  the 


44  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

to  vote  is  a  rate-payer's  privilege.  It  is  not  a  right, 
which  is  enjoyed  by  any  man  of  proper  age,  as  it  is 
with  us.  It  is  a  privilege  that  attaches  to  the  own- 
ership or  occupancy  of  property. 

In  consequence  of  this  fact,  rates,  rather  than 
people,  are  represented  in  the  Town  Councils.  Only 
he  who  pays  rates  is  presumed  to  be  interested  in 
the  government.    By  reason  of  this  fact,  the  Town 

15th  of  July,  and  for  one  year  preceding,  and  fall  within  one 
of  the  following  classes: 

(1)  The  occupation  of  any  dwelling  house. 

(2)  The  occupation  of  any  land  or  tenements,  shop,  office, 
or  chamber  of  (£10)  fifty  dollars  annual  rental. 

(3)  A  lodger  occupying  apartments  of  the  annual  rental 
of  (£10)  fifty  dollars,  unfurnished. 

(4)  A  person  separately  inhabiting  a  dwelling  house  by 
virtue  of  any  office  service  or  employment,  whether  he  pays 
local  taxes  or  not.  Unmarried  women  occupiers  may  also  vote. 
A  man  may  vote  in  several  county  districts  if  he  has  property 
in  each  to  place  him  on  the  Parliamentary  rolls. 

The  right  to  vote  is  denied  to  Peers  of  the  Realm,  and  the 
hired  agents  of  candidates,  because  of  the  fact  that  they  would 
be  expected  to  exercise  undue  influence.  Minors,  lunatics,  pau- 
pers, felons,  and  women  (except  as  above  indicated),  and 
members  of  the  police  force,  are  also  disqualified. 

Suffrage  is  not  the  same  in  England  and  Scotland,  nor  for 
Parliamentary  and  local  elections.  It  has  been  gradually  ex- 
tended from  the  early  half  of  the  century.  Prior  to  the  Reform 
Act  of  1832  there  were  about  500,000  men  on  the  register.  An 
equal  number  was  added  by  the  act  of  that  year.  The  act 
of  1867  still  further  liberalised  the  suffrage,  and  added  about 
one  million  electors.  Not  until  1884  was  the  electorate  again 
broadened,  when  about  three  million  more  voters  were  taken 
into  the  nation's  confidence,  bringing  the  total  up  to  nearly 
five  millions  in  England  and  Wales.  The  suffrage  is  still 
far  from  universal.  It  does  not  include  the  very  poor  and  the 
millions  whose  transitory  residence  and  lack  of  property  qual- 
ifications exclude  them  from  the  right  to  vote.  And  it  is 
essentially  a  property  right. 


THE  CITIZEN  AND  THE  CITY  45 

Council  is  a  rate-payer's  body.  The  voter  grumbles 
when  his  taxes  are  raised,  and  punishes  his  Coun- 
cilman for  it.  All  this  makes  for  responsible  gov- 
ernment. For  the  citizen  watches  the  Council  meet- 
ings and  its  expenditures.  His  vote  directly  affects 
his  purse.  And  he  is  very  watchful  of  any  new 
departure,  of  any  new  loan  or  enterprise,  of  any 
big,  generous  policy  upon  which  the  Council  might 
venture  to  embark. 

A  typical  instance  which  indicates  this  rate- 
payers scrutiny  is  afforded  by  the  city  of  Glasgow. 
Sir  Samuel  Chisholm  had  been  in  the  Council  for 
nearly  a  score  of  years.  He  was  a  commanding 
figure  in  the  community.  He  had  been  identified 
with  the  great  business  enterprises  which  have 
given  that  city  such  a  commanding  distinction  in 
the  trading  world.  His  career  was  rounded  off  by 
an  election  to  the  office  of  Lord  Provost,  as  the 
position  of  Mayor  is  called  in  Scotland.  During 
his  incumbency  as  Provost  he  identified  himself 
with  a  proposal  for  cleaning  out  some  of  the  worst 
slums  in  the  city.  It  was  an  improvement  badly 
needed,  for  Glasgow  is  one  of  the  worst  housed 
cities  in  the  world.  On  the  expiration  of  his  mayor- 
alty he  determined  to  again  run  for  the  Council. 
This  was  a  rather  unprecedented  thing,  for  a  man 
is  expected  to  retire  from  active  politics  after  he 
has  reached  the  highest  position  in  the  community. 
But  his  programme  for  municipal  slum  clearance 


46  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

and  housing  involved  a  heavy  expenditure,  with 
some  addition  to  the  tax  rate.  It  aroused  great 
opposition,  and  despite  his  position  and  unques- 
tioned services  to  the  community  he  was  defeated 
for  re-election.  Other  influences  contributed  to  his 
defeat.  For  he  was  an  earnest  temperance  advo- 
cate, and  the  public-house  keepers  are  said  to  have 
combined  with  the  large  rate-payers  against  him. 

Another  instance  is  the  recent  London  elections, 
held  in  March,  1907.  The  Progressive  party,  which 
had  been  in  control  of  the  County  Council  for  years, 
had  developed  the  activities  of  London  and  in- 
curred heavy  indebtedness  for  many  needed  im- 
provements. It  had  greatly  increased  the  rates  for 
educational  purposes.  Badly  needed  parks,  bath 
houses,  and  street  improvements,  had  been  opened. 
But  the  Progressive  party  was  defeated  and  the 
Moderates  or  Conservatives  placed  in  power  by  a 
large  majority. 

It  is  this  interest  in  the  rates  that  has  stimulated 
the  growth  of  municipal  ownership.  Other  influ- 
ences have  contributed  to  it,  but  at  bottom  the 
rate-payers  are  united  in  the  conviction  that  it  is 
good  business  for  the  city  to  own  the  big  franchise 
corporations  that  make  use  of  the  streets.  For  in 
England,  though  not  in  Scotland,  the  public  enter- 
prises have  been  widely  used  for  the  relief  of  taxa- 
tion, and  as  the  local  rates  are  very  heavy,  the  rate- 
payers have  seen  in  these  enterprises  an  opportu- 


THE  CITIZEN  AXD  THE  CITY  47 

nity  for  relief.  In  addition  to  this,  unimproved 
property  is  largely  exempt  from  taxation,  so  that 
the  burdens  on  the  other  classes  are  often  excessive. 

The  same  pecuniary  interest  that  has  led  to 
municipal  ownership  keeps  the  rate-payer  alert  af- 
ter an  enterprise  has  been  acquired.  For  any  im- 
providence on  the  part  of  the  Council  may  readily 
become  a  burden  on  the  tax-payer.  Every  new 
venture  is  carefully  studied  before  it  is  entered 
upon,  and  the  Council  committees  are  constantly 
striving  to  make  the  best  possible  showing  for  their 
departments.  This  is  one  of  the  explanations  of 
Britain's  success  in  the  things  her  cities  have 
turned  their  hands  to. 

This  tyranny  of  the  rate-paying  classes  explains 
some  of  the  excellencies  of  the  English  city.  It 
also  explains  its  worst  shortcomings.  The  unseen 
effects  of  throwing  the  burden  of  taxation  on  to 
the  occupier  alone  are  almost  all  bad.  It  leads  to 
a  cheese-paring  policy  which  cramps  and  confines 
the  city.  This  is  one  of  the  chief  burdens  on  dem- 
ocracy in  Great  Britain.  For  the  Council  hardly 
dares  to  be  responsive  to  any  big  humane  proposal 
for  the  betterment  of  the  condition  of  the  people 
if  it  involves  an  increase  in  taxation.  Beauty,  art, 
education,  better  housing  conditions,  and  slum 
clearance  are  sacrificed  to  the  sordid  ideal  of  the 
rate-payer. 

In   this  respect  the   average  American   city  is 


48  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

much  more  hopeful  than  are  the  cities  of  Great 
Britain,  even  though  it  is  now  devoid  of  the 
inspiring  examples  which  that  country  offers.  For 
the  average  American  voter  is  not  conscious  of  his 
local  taxes.  Only  an  insignificant  number  of  voters 
are  the  owners  of  taxable  property.  In  New  York 
City  only  about  4|  per  cent,  of  the  total  number 
of  houses  are  owned  by  their  occupiers  free  of  mort- 
gage. But  one  person  out  of  every  one  hundred 
and  forty  appears  upon  the  tax  duplicate  as  the 
owner  of  personal  property.  Even  in  the  Western 
cities  the  home  owner  is  the  exception.  And  as 
all  local  taxes  in  America  are  assessed  against  the 
property,  the  tenant  is  unconscious  of  the  cost  of 
city  government. 

For  this  reason  democracy  in  America  is 
rather  indifferent  to  the  cost  of  its  experiments. 
And  any  reform  movement  based  upon  economy, 
retrenchment,  or  a  tax-payer's  programme,  meets 
with  little  sympathy.  The  British  voter,  however, 
is  always  alert  to  the  question  of  cost.  He  is  in- 
spired by  a  material  rather  than  a  civic  enthusi- 
asm. This  explains  the  solicitude  of  the  Council 
and  managers  over  the  financial  showing  of  any 
enterprise.  It  is  this  that  accounts  for  the  policy 
of  rapid  debt  repayment,  the  accumulation  of  re- 
serve funds,  and  the  subordination  of  immediate 
reductions  in  fares  and  charges  to  a  cautious  finan- 
cial policy.     If  any  criticism  is  to  be  made  upon 


THE  CITIZEN  AND  THE  CITY  49 

the  trading  enterprises,  it  is  that  they  have  gone 
far  beyond  the  necessities  of  conservative  financing 
in  their  fear  of  a  possible  burden  on  the  rates.  In 
many  instances  they  have  called  upon  the  present 
generation  to  hand  over  properties  to  its  successor 
that  will  soon  be  free  from  indebtedness,  or  have 
delayed  extending  the  service  in  order  that  the 
earnings  may  be  used  for  the  relief  of  taxation. 

This  method  of  levying  rates  and  of  limiting  the 
suffrage  to  the  tax-paying  class  explains  in  part 
the  honesty  and  efficiency  of  the  Town  Councils. 
For  there  is  always  a  material  incentive  to  watch- 
fulness and  the  nomination  of  good  men  for  office. 
It  is  not  an  exalted  motive,  perhaps,  but  it  is  a 
universal  one.  The  economic  instinct  of  the  rate- 
payer, who  has  little  from  which  to  pay,  is  as  poten- 
tial a  force  as  is  the  economic  motive  of  the  fran- 
chise seeker,  who  in  America  has  much  to  gain.1 

Still  another  influence  awakens  the  affection  of 
the  people  for  the  city.    It  also  explains  the  dignity 

lIt  is  true  there  is  a  large  class  in  every  industrial  city  who 
are  not  conscious  of  their  taxes.  There  are  thousands  of  vot- 
ing lodgers  or  boarders  who  are  not  assessed  directly.  Their 
taxes  are  paid  by  the  landlord,  who  shifts  them  on  to  the 
lodger  by  the  addition  of  a  sixpence  or  a  shilling  to  his  weekly 
rent.  It  would  be  interesting  to  follow  the  effect  of  this  indi- 
rect payment  of  taxes  on  the  political  outlook  of  these  classes. 
In  such  constituencies  as  Poplar,  one  of  the  boroughs  of  Lon- 
don, a  large  part  of  the  voters  are  such  lodgers.  And  this  is 
a  strong  socialistic  centre.  The  same  is  true  of  West  Ham 
and  Battersea,  which  are  radical  boroughs.  Whether  the  ab- 
sence of  direct  taxes  explains  .the  radicalism  of  such  com- 
munities is  only  conjectural. 


50  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

of  the  office  of  alderman  and  the  honesty  and  effi- 
ciency of  the  Council.  It  is  the  magnitude  of  city 
work.  The  renaissance  of  municipal  administra- 
tion followed  the  big  undertakings  which  the  cities 
have  taken  over  during  the  past  fifteen  years.  Mu- 
nicipal trading  has  attached  all  classes  to  the  com- 
munity. It  has  endeared  the  city  to  the  people.  It 
has  created  a  topic  of  absorbing  interest.  The  sense 
of  thrift  aroused  by  the  desire  of  relief  from  the 
burdens  of  taxation  has  been  followed  by  a  sense 
of  intimacy,  of  attachment  to  the  city.  The  citizen 
loves  the  city  that  manifests  some  love  for  him. 
The  more  the  city  does,  the  more  it  receives  in 
return.  Moreover,  big  men  like  to  be  doing  big 
things.  They  wish  to  be  part  of  a  city  that  is  the 
centre  of  everybody's  attention  and  the  topic  of 
all  conversation.  The  ambition  which  lures  men 
to  the  directorate  of  railways,  banks,  and  industrial 
companies  in  America  lures  them  in  England  to 
the  directorate  of  the  city,  when  the  city  is  big 
enough  to  command  their  services.  There  are  many 
men  who  would  give  their  time  to  a  city  tram  line 
who  would  not  be  attracted  by  the  petty  details  of 
routine  administration.  The  very  bigness  of  the 
English  city  invites  to  its  administration  those  most 
fitted  to  carry  it  on. 

It  is,  of  course,  said  that  such  men  could  not  be 
elected  in  America;  that  they  are  excluded  from 
political  life  by  its  badness.    As  a  matter  of  fact, 


THE  CITIZEN  AXD  THE  CITY  51 

the  thing  that  keeps  honest  men  out  of  politics  in 
America  is  not  the  people,  not  our  undeveloped 
ideals;  it  is  the  franchise  corporations  who  com- 
plain of  their  absence.  Analyse  the  politics  of  any  of 
our  large  cities,  or  even  of  our  States,  for  that  mat- 
ter, and  this  fact  becomes  manifest.  In  New  York, 
Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis, 
conditions  are  the  same.  Everywhere  the  boss,  the 
party,  the  machine,  are  identified  with  the  big  busi- 
ness interests  centering  about  the  street  railway, 
gas,  and  electric  lighting  companies.  The  cor- 
rupt bosses  are  the  brokers  of  franchise  corpora- 
tions. The  trail  of  corruption  leads  not  to  the 
people,  but  to  the  office  of  the  banker  and  the 
broker.  It  is  these  who  nominate  the  "safe  and 
sane"  councilmen,  tax  assessors,  and  mayors.  They 
do  not  choose  the  honest  and  efficient  to  rule.  Their 
business  is  not  consistent  with  honest  government. 
Franchises  are  not  obtained  in  the  open — they  are 
bought  and  sold  in  the  office  of  the  brokers  of  privi- 
lege, who  make  use  of  the  party  organisation  as  a 
means  of  delivering  the  goods. 

Moreover,  the  class  of  men  who  are  found  in  the 
English  city,  in  America  cannot,  and  dare  not,  en- 
ter local  politics.  They  are  identified  with  interests 
adverse  to  the  city.  They  are  kept  out  of  politics 
by  fear,  by  business  and  social  pressure,  by  that 
intimate  class  instinct  that  distrusts  democracy  be- 
cause democracv  believes  in  the  destruction  of  the 


52  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

privileges  which  they  enjoy.  The  American  city  is 
thus  bereft  of  its  best  talent.  The  banker,  the 
broker,  the  business  man,  the  lawyer,  are  all  di- 
vorced from  the  city.  Their  pecuniary  interest  is 
elsewhere.  We  have  tried  the  impossible  in  Amer- 
ica. We  have  placed  franchises  worth  millions  on 
the  gaming  table  of  politics  to  be  awarded  to  those 
who  will  take  them  through  political  manipulation. 
We  have  done  this,  and  wondered  why  the  talent 
of  the  community  did  not  enter  the  City  Council. 

Had  the  British  cities  such  prizes  to  offer,  they 
would  probably  be  as  corrupt  as  are  our  own.  But 
Parliament  grants  all  franchises  itself.  It  does  it 
by  special  acts.  The  cities  have  no  control  over  the 
terms.  They  can  interpose  a  veto  on  tramway  grants 
and  secure  powers  to  operate  tramways,  electric 
light,  and  gas  enterprises  themselves.  But  here 
their  powers  end.  The  city  cannot  fix  the  terms 
of  the  grant  or  regulate  the  service  or  the  charges 
of  the  company.  The  corruption  which  we,  in 
America,  find  in  the  Council  chamber  appears  in 
Great  Britain  in  Parliament.  Not  in  the  vulgar 
forms  with  which  we  are  familiar,  but  in  a  way  that 
is  equally  costly  so  far  as  the  people  are  concerned. 
Inasmuch  as  the  cities  have  never  had  any  control 
over  franchises,  they  have  never  been  subject  to 
the  great  temptations  incident  to  their  disposal. 
And  now,  where  the  cities  own  these  utilities,  we 
find  the  class  of  men  who  are  identified  with  fran- 


THE  CITIZEN  AND  THE  CITY  53 

chise  manipulation  in  America  identified  with,  the 
city  in  the  administration  of  the  same  industries. 

Municipal  ownership  thus  identifies  all  classes 
with  the  city  rather  than  against  it.  The  economic, 
no  less  than  the  civic  interest,  of  all  the  people 
demands  honest  administration.  As  there  are  no 
franchises  to  be  struggled  for,  the  talent  of  the  com- 
munity seeks  expression  through  those  channels 
which  are  open  to  it.  As  the  biggest  corporation  in 
the  community  is  the  community  itself,  men  seek 
to  serve  on  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the  city. 

In  addition  to  this,  the  Town  Councils  have  quite 
generally  abolished  the  private  contractor.  They 
are  doing  their  work  by  the  direct  employment  of 
labour.  All  classes  who  might  be  interested  in 
privilege  are  exiled  from  the  Council  chamber.  They 
are  free  to  serve  the  city  without  at  the  same  time 
sacrificing  their  personal  welfare.  This  is  a  great 
gain.  It  frees  the  press.  It  relieves  the  business 
and  professional  interests  always  identified  with 
privilege. 

Herein  is  the  explanation  of  the  British  city  and 
the  British  citizen.  The  success  of  the  one  and 
the  honesty  and  efficiency  of  the  other  are  traceable 
to  the  economic  rather  than  the  ethical  or  personal 
motive.  The  system  of  local  taxation  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  absence  of  special  privilege  on  the 
other  are  the  controlling  influences  in  municipal 
administration.    The  one  compels  an  interest  in  the 


54  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

city  through  fear.  The  other  attracts  all  classes 
through  the  opportunity  of  service.  To  both  of 
these  influences  human  nature  responds.  The  love 
of  service,  no  less  than  the  fear  of  want,  or  the  love 
of  wealth,  is  a  compelling  motive  of  human  action. 
And  the  British  city  has  united  them  all  in  the 
service  of  democracy. 

It  is  not  the  traditional  ideals  of  public  life,  not 
the  sense  of  noblesse  oblige,  not  the  higher  personal 
honesty  of  the  British  people,  that  has  made  the 
city  what  it  is.  These  influences  have  helped ;  but 
the  foundation  is  an  economic  one,  so  adjusted,  how- 
ever, that  it  appeals  to  the  interest  of  all  classes 
rather  than  to  the  interest  of  a  privileged  few. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  IDEALS  OF  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

Great  Britain,  like  America,  is  being  democra- 
tised through  the  city.  It  is  also  being  socialised. 
While  Parliament  is  distant  from  the  people,  and 
essentially  reactionary,  the  Town  Councils  are  re- 
sponsive to  public  opinion,  and  have  attained  a 
political  consciousness  nowhere  else  manifest  in 
Great  Britain.  Just  as  the  American  city  is  becom- 
ing democratic  in  its  thought,  through  economic 
issues  which  are  taking  the  place  of  party  names 
and  traditions,  so  the  British  city  is  laying  the 
foundations  upon  which  will  be  erected  a  socialised 
community,  with  ideals  that  are  little  short  of  revo- 
lutionary. 

Popular  government  is  being  vitalised  in  the  cit- 
ies. The  British  people  are  making  use  of  the  tools 
that  were  placed  in  their  hands  by  the  Reform  Acts 
of  the  early  part  of  the  century,  and  all  of  the  ten- 
dencies point  to  the  use  of  these  powers  for  increas- 
ing the  functions  of  the  municipality.  Democracy 
is  becoming  industrial.  It  is  seeking  an  explana- 
tion of  poverty  in  economic  rather  than  in  personal 
causes.     It  is  striving  to  relieve  the  cost  of  the 

55 


56  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

industrial  system  by  substituting  the  city  for  war- 
ring private  interests.  The  economic  motive  is  up- 
permost. In  Ireland,  in  England,  in  Parliament,  in 
the  cities,  the  struggle  is  one  of  classes,  of  the  un- 
privileged many  against  the  privileged  few.  The 
changes  which  are  taking  place  are  inspired  by  the 
common  people.  For  this  reason  they  are  bound  to 
be  permanent.  The  cities  are  seeking  the  better- 
ment of  social  conditions  through  the  direct  positive 
action  of  the  community  itself.  The  permanency 
of  this  movement  is  further  assured  by  its  univer- 
sality. In  Germany,  France,  Italy,  Switzerland, 
Belgium,  and  Eussia,  the  issues  are  the  same.  It 
is  a  class  movement  struggling  upward  from  below. 
It  is  a  class  movement,  too,  because  those  who  make 
the  programme  a  possibility  come  from  among  the 
workers.  The  struggle  involved  is  one  of  economic 
opportunity.  It  is  a  struggle  for  the  chance  to 
work  and  participate  in  the  wonderful  industrial 
progress  of  the  past  century.  And  everywhere  the 
city  is  the  centre  of  this  new  political  activity. 
Everywhere  the  tendency  of  democracy  is  toward 
decentralisation,  to  the  use  of  the  powers  resident  in 
the  municipality  for  the  relief  of  the  poverty  and 
despair  which  has  settled  down  upon  the  submerged 
classes. 

There  is  nothing  surprising  in  this  movement. 
It  represents  a  shifting  of  power  from  the  few  to 
the  many.     From  the  beginnings  of  organised  so- 


IDEALS  OF  THE  BRITISH  CITY  57 

ciety,  government  has  always  represented  a  class. 
The  class  may  have  been  only  the  king.  More  fre- 
quently, it  has  been  the  king  and  the  aristocratic 
orders  identified  with  the  land.  In  more  recent 
years  the  land-owning  classes  have  opened  the  doors 
and  permitted  the  commercial  classes,  whom  the 
industrial  revolution  has  raised  to  wealth,  to  share 
their  powers.  But  whatever  the  class,  it  has  always 
controlled  the  government.  It  has  made  use  of 
its  powers  for  the  creation  of  privileges  and  their 
subsequent  preservation.  It  has  devised  tax  laws 
of  its  own  liking  and  shifted  the  burdens  of  gov- 
ernment on  to  the  poor.  For  commercial  purposes 
it  has  plunged  great  nations  into  war.  It  has  made 
use  of  the  machinery  of  government  for  the  creation 
of  railway,  franchise,  mining,  and  other  privileges 
for  which  the  mass  of  the  people  must  of  necessity 
pay.  And  in  no  country  has  privilege  as  firmly 
identified  itself  with  government  as  in  Great 
Britain.  Nowhere  has  it  enjoyed  such  undisturbed 
control  of  administration.  And  democracy  is  now 
seeking  to  make  use  of  the  same  political  tools  to 
readjust  the  burdens  of  life  and  to  abolish  the  law- 
made  advantages  that  the  class  which  rules  has 
so  long  enjoyed. 

The  programme  of  municipal  democracy  in  Great 
Britain  is  both  conscious  and  unconscious.  It  is 
conscious  on  the  part  of  the  Fabians  and  other 
socialists,  with  whom  are  allied  the  advanced  Lib- 


58  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

erals  and  the  working  classes.  It  was  the  Fabians 
who  first  gave  literary  expression  to  the  movement. 
They  formulated  a  programme  of  municipalisation, 
of  evolutionary  socialism,  and  the  decentralisation 
of  government.  They  have  produced  a  literature 
which  has  profoundly  influenced  public  opinion, 
and  formulated  a  conscious  ideal  of  municipal  pos- 
sibilities that  is  the  inspiration  of  a  multitude  of 
workers.  They  have  entered  politics — first  the  Town 
Councils,  and  then  Parliament.  In  a  general  way 
the  present  Liberal  ministry  is  committed  to  Fabian 
tendencies.  The  most  profound  influence,  however, 
has  been  upon  local  administration.  In  the  cities 
the  Fabians,  together  with  the  labour  representa- 
tives, form  a  progressive  element  which  has  become 
a  portentous  menace  to  the  age-long  abuses  of  the 
aristocracy.  It  is  not  improbable  that  a  consider- 
able number  of  the  great  industrial  towns  will  fall 
under  the  control  of  these  classes  within  a  compara- 
tively few  years.  With  that  achieved,  and  with 
Parliament  responsive  to  the  wishes  of  the  towns, 
the  British  city  will  offer  a  fully  equipped  and 
highly  perfected  experiment  station  of  municipal 
socialism. 

The  movement  toward  municipalisation  has  been 
unconscious  on  the  part  of  the  trading  classes  and 
small  business  men.  They  are  the  controlling  classes 
in  local  government.  The  burdens  of  local  taxation, 
and  the  necessities  of  sanitation,  health,  and  edu- 


IDEALS  OF  THE  BEITISH  CITY  59 

cation,  have  allied  thera  with  the  more  radical  mem- 
bers of  the  community.  Up  to  the  present  time 
these  classes  have  been  in  control  of  the  Town 
Councils.  And  they  have  applied  their  business 
experience  to  the  successful  administration  of  the 
enterprises  upon  which  the  cities  have  entered. 

The  average  British  Councilman  has  no  abstrac- 
tions about  government.  He  is  not  concerned  with 
any  philosophic  ideas  of  the  proper  functions  of 
the  State,  of  what  it  should  do  and  what  it  should 
not  do.  He  moves  from  one  undertaking  to  another 
as  the  necessities  of  sanitation,  transit,  decent  hous- 
ing conditions,  education,  or  the  immediate  emer- 
gency demands.  He  gives  no  thought  to  whither 
the  movement  is  tending;  to  whether  its  ultimate 
goal  is  socialism,  or  the  reverse.  But  he  is  always 
solicitous  of  the  tax-rate.  The  most  radical  recog- 
nises that  municipal  enterprise  must  ultimately 
pass  the  scrutiny  of  those  who  pay  the  bills.  For 
this  reason,  public  undertakings  are  as  jealously 
watched  as  are  the  expenditures  of  private  business. 
And  it  is  the  very  general  financial  success  of  mu- 
nicipal ownership  that  has  endeared  the  movement 
to  the  rate-payers.  For  the  earnings  of  these  enter- 
prises have  been  widely  used  in  England  for  the 
relief  of  taxation.  This  identifies  with  every  exten- 
sion of  the  movement  not  only  the  propertyless  class 
and  the  wage-earners,  but  all  those  who  see  in  trad- 
ing a  means  for  the  further  reduction  in  their  rates. 


GO  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

Up  to  the  present  time  thrift  has  probably  been 
the  determining  motive  in  the  movement.  The  suc- 
cess of  one  town  aroused  the  rate-payers  of  another, 
always  alert  to  this  side  of  municipal  administra- 
tion. 

Municipal  trading  is  likely  to  grow  as  its  suc- 
cess is  assured.  There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that 
the  towns  will  be  content  with  the  natural  monopo- 
lies which  have  been  already  taken  over.  Public 
opinion  will  move  from  one  activity  to  another  as 
local  necessities  suggest.  In  the  last  ten  years 
thousands  of  men  have  been  identified  with  city 
work.  They  are  in  the  employ  of  the  street  rail- 
way, electricity,  or  gas  departments,  or  the  work- 
shops of  the  Council.  If  influenced  at  all  by  mu- 
nicipal employment,  it  will  be  in  favour  of  still 
further  extensions  of  the  public  activity.  The  com- 
munity, too,  has  responded  to  the  broadening  of 
the  public  service.  The  uniform  courtesy  of  the 
managers,  Council  committees,  and  city  employees ; 
the  improvement  and  cheapening  of  service ;  the  re- 
sponsiveness of  public  enterprise  to  public  opinion, 
have  created  a  feeling  of  intimacy  and  control  on 
the  part  of  the  people  which  did  not  exist  under 
private  ownership.  A  sense  of  unity  has  come  into 
city  administration.  With  this  has  come  a  sense 
of  fraternal  helpfulness.  Public  trading  has  aroused 
a  reflex  action  upon  the  people.  The  best  governed 
cities  in  Great  Britain  are  those  which  have  enter- 


IDEALS  OF  THE  BRITISH  CITY  61 

ed  trading  most  extensively.  In  such  towns  one 
finds  a  keen,  vibrant  sense  of  the  city;  of  its  life 
and  meaning. 

There  is  something  psychological  about  all  this. 
A  city  that  keeps  its  hands  off,  that  does  nothing 
but  police  and  clean  the  streets,  means  but  little 
to  the  people.  But  when  it  adds  to  the  traditional 
functions,  the  manifold  services  of  transit,  gas, 
water,  electric  light,  libraries,  parks,  baths  and  lec- 
tures, it  awakens  the  love  and  interest  of  the  com- 
munity in  itself.  In  the  trading  towns  people  talk 
city.  One  hears  it  in  the  clubs,  the  restaurants,  on 
the  street  cars,  everywhere.  The  fact  that  a  man 
is  a  joint  owner  in  the  tram  line  makes  him  critical 
and  appreciative  of  the  tram  line.  He  is  interested 
in  its  earnings — he  follows  its  balance  sheets  from 
year  to  year.  He  talks  about  extensions,  rates  of 
fare,  and  the  innovations  suggested  by  the  Council. 
He  follows  the  doings  in  the  Town  Hall,  and  knows 
in  an  intimate  way  the  life  and  traditions  of  his 
Councilman.  The  debates  of  the  Council  are  far 
more  absorbing  to  him  than  the  doings  of  Parlia- 
ment. All  these  things  are  but  the  reflex  action  of 
the  city  upon  its  people.  It  becomes  the  most  im- 
portant thing  in  their  lives.  It  touches  them  at  so 
many  points  and  serves  them  in  so  many  ways.  The 
citizen  looks  upon  the  city  as  his  city;  not  as  a 
thing  distant  and  apart  from  him,  but  as  something 
in  which  he  has  a  vital  interest.    And  nowhere  is 


62  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

there  any  movement  away  from  municipal  owner- 
ship. The  cities  rarely  abandon  any  enterprise  to 
which  they  have  put  their  hands.  The  best  test 
of  the  movement  is  the  fact  that  all  classes,  save 
those  which  have  suffered  by  the  change,  are  a  unit 
for  its  preservation,  if  not  for  its  extension. 

A  further  influence  toward  trading  is  the  fearful 
poverty  of  the  bulk  of  the  nation.  Words  cannot 
exaggerate  the  degradation  which  seems  to  oppress 
the  mass  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  English  city.  It 
is  seen  in  their  wretched  tenements,  but  most  of 
all  in  their  appearance.  No  country  of  western 
Europe  presents  a  scene  of  such  universal  despair 
as  do  the  cities  of  Great  Britain.  The  scale  of  wages, 
the  extent  of  non-employment,  the  statistics  of  pov- 
erty, the  loss  of  physical  stamina — all  confirm  the 
evidences  of  the  eye.  The  country  villages  are  but 
little  better.  And  Parliament,  which  represents  the 
privileges  primarily  responsible  for  these  condi- 
tions, refuses  to  grant  any  relief  that  threatens  to 
interfere  with  the  ancient  abuses  of  its  members. 

All  of  these  influences  are  arousing  England  to  a 
new  conception  of  politics  and  of  the  purpose  of 
organised  society.  There  is  a  renaissance  of  belief 
in  public  activity  as  opposed  to  private  charity. 
And  the  very  general  success  of  the  things  that  have 
been  undertaken  has  led  to  a  confidence  in  the  city 
that  does  not  exist  as  to  Parliament 

In  a  general  way,  the  ideals  of  the  English  city 


IDEALS  OF  THE  BRITISH  CITY  63 

are  expressing  themselves  along  two  lines.  The  one 
is  avowedly  socialistic.  It  makes  no  distinction  be- 
tween enterprises  which  are  natural  monopolies, 
and  exist  by  franchise  grants  from  Parliament,  and 
industries  that  are  subject  to  the  regulating  power 
of  competition.  It  is  not  content  with  what  has 
been  done,  but  would  socialise  all  enterprise.  It 
would  take  over  all  of  the  means  of  production  for 
the  common  weal.  Militant  state  socialism,  such  as 
prevails  in  Germany,  has  not  obtained  the  substan- 
tial following  in  Great  Britain  that  it  has  on  the 
Continent,  but  the  evolutionary  socialism  of  the 
Fabian  type  has  saturated  almost  all  classes. 

On  the  other  hand  are  the  land  reformers.  They 
would  socialise  the  natural  monopolies  and  take 
over  all  land  values  by  means  of  taxation.  They 
are  followers  of  Henry  George.  The  latter  pro- 
gramme is  particularly  aggressive  in  Scotland  and 
in  the  cities.  It  has  a  strong  following  in  the  pres- 
ent Liberal  ministry.  A  league  of  municipalities 
comprising  most  of  the  local  authorities  in  Great 
Britain  has  been  organised  for  the  promotion  of 
land  value  taxation.  The  present  Liberal  ministry 
is  committed  to  some  measure  of  this  sort,  which 
will  permit  of  the  partial  appropriation  by  the  city 
of  the  unearned  increment  which  has  followed  its 
growth.  Through  this  means  the  monopoly  of  the 
landlord  will  be  broken,  for  he  will  no  longer  be 
able  to  hold  his  land  for  speculation.    The  tenement 


64  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

problem  will  be  open  to  correction,  for  then  men 
will  have  to  make  use  of  the  land  which  they  now 
hold  free  from  taxes  in  order  to  meet  the  demands 
which  the  community  imposes  upon  them.  Vacant 
land  lying  about  the  city  will  be  opened  up 
to  occupancy,  while  the  millions  of  unemployed  will 
be  lured  back  to  the  countryside,  from  which  they 
have  been  dispossessed  by  the  rack-renting  of  the 
English  landlords.1  The  line  of  division  between 
these  two  programmes,  while  perfectly  clear  to  the 
leaders,  is  not  observed  in  politics.  The  Fabians, 
progressives,  and  labour  leaders  are  committed  to 
the  socialization  of  land  values.  They  are  also  to  be 
found  on  the  side  of  every  movement  for  increas- 
ing the  powers  of  the  municipality. 

While  these  are  the  ultimate  ideals  of  the  more 
advanced  reformers,  it  must  not  be  supposed  that 
they  are  in  a  fair  way  of  immediate  realisation.  The 
cities  are  so  limited  by  Parliament  that  every  for- 
ward step  has  to  pass  the  scrutiny  of  powerful 
vested  interests  who  are  jealous  of  the  growing  ac- 
tivities of  the  towns  and  in  constant  fear  for  the 
preservation  of  their  privileges.  They  form  the 
most  sympathetic  aristocracy  in  western  Europe, 
and  are  probably  the  most  powerful.  They  are  the 
House  of  Lords.  They  exercise  great  influence  in 
the  House  of  Commons.    Every  advance  of  democ- 

^ack-renting  is  a.  term  of  common  use  in  Great  Britain.  It 
is  the  exaction  of  excessive  rentals  from  agricultural  lands 
by  reason  of  the  demand  for  it  on  the  part  of  tenants. 


IDEALS  OF  THE  BRITISH  CITY  65 

racy  has  to  make  its  way  against  organised  opposi- 
tion. And  the  rate-payers  have  to  pay  handsomely 
for  every  vested  wrong  that  the  Council  destroys. 
It  is  for  this  reason  that  the  impression  thus  far 
made  upon  the  poverty  of  the  British  city  is  very 
slight.  And  the  realisation  of  the  programme 
of  municipal  socialism,  or  the  taxation  of  land 
values,  is  a  thing  of  the  far  distant  future. 
But  the  programme  has  become  a  working  one, 
and  democracy  has  identified  itself  with  its  achieve- 
ment. 

Thus  far  the  movement  for  trading  has  centred 
about  the  ownership  of  the  street  railways,  electric 
lighting,  gas,  and  water  enterprises.  These  have 
been  very  generally  taken  over  by  the  cities.  Some- 
thing has  been  done  to  improve  the  housing  condi- 
tions, but  not  much.  In  addition,  public  education 
has  been  greatly  promoted.  The  municipalities 
have  erected  public  bath  houses  and  laundries. 
Libraries  are  being  established,  as  are  polytechnics. 
The  cities,  too,  have  greatly  improved  the  well-being 
of  their  own  employees.  They  have  established  fair 
wages  and  opened  works  departments  for  the  exe- 
cution of  municipal  contracts  by  the  direct  employ- 
ment of  labour. 

The  immediate  programme  of  the  cities  is  a  de- 
mand for  permission  to  buy  land  in  advance  of  the 
city's  growth  by  compulsory  purchase,  and  the  tax- 
ation of  land  values.  They  are  also  seeking  powers 


66  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

to  open  employment  agencies  and  municipal  pawn- 
shops, slaughter  houses  and  bakeries,  to  supply 
milk  and  free  lunches  to  school-children.  An  agi- 
tation has  gained  some  headway  for  municipal  fire 
insurance  and  municipal  brokerage  establishments. 
Parks  are  being  opened  and  public  concerts  are 
given,  while  many  other  activities  of  a  helpful  sort 
are  being  promoted.  This  is  far  from  a  socialised 
city.  But  the  direction  of  the  movement  is  indus- 
trial, and  that  is  the  principal  thing. 

Such  a  programme  of  an  enlarged  city  life  in- 
volves honest  administration,  and  the  Town  Coun- 
cils are  filled  with  men  whose  honesty  is  on  a  par 
with  their  disinterested  service.  The  British  city 
is  free  from  corruption,  not  only  the  vulgar  cor- 
ruption with  which  we  are  familiar,  but  the  more 
subtle  and  sinister  corruption  which  comes  from 
a  community  of  interest  between  big  business  enter- 
prises and  the  government.  Occasional  instances 
have  come  to  light  of  embezzlement  or  other  mal- 
feasance; but  such  instances  are  so  rare  that  they 
do  not  qualify  the  universal  honesty  of  the  English 
city.  Its  business  is  carried  on  with  economy,  con- 
tracts are  awarded  to  the  lowest  bidder,  and  bribery 
is  practically  unknown. 

During  the  controversy  which  raged  some  years 
ago  over  the  subject  of  municipal  trading,  the 
charge  was  made  in  the  press  that  municipal  own- 
ership promoted  corruption.    These  charges  led  to 


IDEALS  OF  THE  BKITISH  CITY  67 

a  very  general  investigation  by  the  Town  Councils. 
The  results  of  these  enquiries  were  reviewed  by 
Mr.  Eobert  Donald,  the  editor  of  the  Municipal 
Journal,  in  the  Contemporary  Review  for  May, 
1903.  The  following  are  among  the  most  flagrant 
disclosures:  It  appeared  that  a  Councilman  in 
Darwen  had  an  interest  amounting  to  five  pounds 
in  a  corporation  doing  business  with  the  city.  The 
Councilman  resigned.  In  Blackpool  it  was  found 
that  three  members  of  the  Council  were  directors  of 
companies  having  dealings  with  the  city,  and  that 
their  combined  holdings  in  the  companies  amounted 
to  thirty-two  pounds.  It  was  also  found  that  two 
members  of  the  Council  had  sub-contracts  on  the 
building  of  the  Town  Hall.  A  number  of  instances 
were  found  of  members  who  supplied  goods  to  the 
city  as  sub-contractors.  All  these  goods,  however, 
were  supplied  at  competitive  bidding,  and  presum- 
ably the  Council  lost  nothing  in  accepting  the  low- 
est tender.  The  most  widely  quoted  case  was  that 
of  an  Alderman  in  Manchester.  He  was  a  candi- 
date for  the  Lord  Mayoralty,  and  would  probably 
have  been  elected.  It  was  found  that  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  an  electrical  engineering  firm  which  had 
made  tenders  to  do  some  work  as  a  sub-contractor 
for  the  city.  The  contracts  were  all  let  to  the  low- 
est bidder,  and  the  total  amount  involved  was  about 
$21,000.  There  was  no  suggestion  in  the  report 
that  the  city  had  lost  anything  by  reason  of  the 


68  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

contract,  or  that  the  bid  was  not  the  lowest  and 
the  best.  But  the  Alderman  involved  was  on  the 
Electricity  Committee,  and  the  Council  found  that 
such  a  relationship  was  not  consistent  with  the 
disinterested  devotion  that  should  be  expected  from 
an  official.  In  consequence  of  the  report  the  Alder- 
man resigned. 

Municipal  trading,  far  from  promoting  jobbery, 
has  insured  its  absence.  For  the  Councils  have  no 
franchises  to  grant.  To  a  considerable  extent  they 
have  become  their  own  contractors.  There  is  thus 
no  powerful  interest  desiring  corrupt  administra- 
tion, no  identity  of  interest  between  the  financial 
classes  in  the  community  and  the  Council.  In  addi- 
tion to  this,  the  work  of  the  Council  is  of  such 
commanding  interest  that  big  men  are  eager  to 
serve  the  community.  These  are  the  great  gains 
from  municipal  ownership.  It  identifies  the  big 
business  connections  with  the  city  rather  than 
against  it.  This  fact  unites  all  classes  in  an  insist- 
ent desire  for  good  government.  The  only  active 
business  interests  in  local  affairs  are  the  public- 
house  keepers.  The  brewing  and  distilling  business 
has  been  largely  monopolised,  and  is  under  the  con- 
trol of  powerful  syndicates.  The  stock  is  widely 
held  by  members  of  Parliament,  and  the  method  of 
granting  local  licenses  makes  the  temperance  ques- 
tion more  or  less  active  in  city  affairs.  But  what- 
ever influence  the  public-house  keepers  may  exert 


IDEALS  OF  THE  BRITISH  CITY  69 

does  not  tend  to  the  corruption  or  bribery  of  Coun- 
cilmen  or  the  election  of  bad  men. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  it  is  doubtful  if  contemporary 
politics  in  any  portion  of  the  world  presents  a  more 
disinterested,  honest,  and  efficient  body  of  public 
officials  than  are  to  be  found  in  the  Town  Councils 
of  Great  Britain. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  GKOWTH  AND  EXTENT  OF  MUNICIPAL 
TKADING 

The  increase  in  local  indebtedness  is  not  a  fair 
barometer  of  the  growth  of  municipal  trading,  al- 
though it  is  one  of  the  main  arguments  against  it. 
In  the  twenty- three  years  from  1875  to  1898  the 
local  debt  of  Great  Britain  increased  from  $451,- 
708,530  to  $1,275,105,731.1  Of  this  sum,  however, 
only  $426,212,937  was  incurred  for  what  are  called 
trading  enterprises.  The  balance  was  for  educa- 
tion, for  improved  sanitation,  or  was  imposed  upon 
the  local  authorities  by  acts  of  Parliament.  By 
1903  the  indebtedness  of  the  British  cities  had  in- 
creased to  $2,153,286,219,2  involving  a  per  capita 
local  debt  of  approximately  fifty  dollars.  It  has 
increased  very  rapidly  since  that  date  and  will  un- 
doubtedly continue  to  grow.  At  the  present  time 
the  local  obligations  chargeable  to  those  enter- 
prises which  are  termed  reproductive  amount  to 
$1,197,951,000.  A  considerable  portion  of  this  sum, 
however,  is  for  clearance  and  housing  schemes,  for 

^ee  address  of  Sir  H.  H.  Fowler,  President  of  the  Royal  Sta- 
tistical Society,  Vol.  63,  p.  383. 
'Municipal  Journal,  Nov.  10,  1905. 

70 


MUNICIPAL  TRADING  71 

bath  houses,  docks  and  markets  which  are  under- 
taken for  other  than  commercial  reasons. 

The  bulk  of  the  indebtedness  for  trading  enter- 
prises is  for  street  railway,  gas,  electricity,  and 
water  undertakings,  most  of  the  tramways  and  elec- 
tricity supplies  having  been  acquired  within  the  last 
ten  years.  The  extent  to  which  municipal  trading 
has  supplanted  private  ownership  in  these  indus- 
tries is  evidenced  by  the  following  table.  The  sta- 
tistics are  for  the  year  1903. 

Public  Undertakings.  Private  Undertakings. 
Kind  of  Enterprise.      No.      Total  Cap'l.  No.      Total  Cap'l. 

Water  1,045  $330,914,491  251  $197,850,964 

Gas    256  173,919,089  454  375,348,459 

Electricity   334  155,728,000  174  133,838,750 

Street  railways 142  199,061,278  154  83,660,551 

1,777     $779,622,858         1,033     $790,688,724 

The  capital  invested  by  the  public  authorities  was 
about  the  same  as  that  of  the  private  companies, 
although  the  public  plants  considerably  outnumber 
the  private  ones.  Nearly  all  the  large  cities  now 
own  their  own  tramway  lines,  the  most  successful 
of  which  are  in  Glasgow,  Liverpool,  and  Manches- 
ter. The  water  supply  has  been  widely  municipal- 
ised, as  have  the  electricity  undertakings.  Only 
about  one-third  of  the  gas  plants  are  public,  al- 
though nearly  all  of  the  larger  cities  have  their 
own  supply.  The  metropolis  of  London  is  the  most 
backward  city  in  Great  Britain  in  this  respect, 
although   it   is  one  of  the  most  advanced   in   its 


72  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

democracy.  The  water  supply  was  but  recently 
acquired,  but  the  gas  is  still  in  the  hands  of  eight 
private  companies.  A  number  of  the  London  bor- 
oughs have  erected  electric  lighting  plants,  and  a 
contest  is  now  being  waged  in  Parliament  over  the 
granting  of  a  franchise  to  an  electric  power  com- 
pany having  authority  to  supply  the  entire  metro- 
politan area.  The  County  Council  contends  that 
the  privilege  should  be  entrusted  to  it,  but  the  pow- 
erful financial  interests  in  Parliament  have  thus 
far  proven  able  to  block  its  plans.  The  County 
Council  owns  two  street  railway  systems,  operating 
on  the  north  and  south  sides  of  the  Thames,  but  has 
not  been  able  to  link  them  into  a  comprehensive 
system.  The  underground  subway,  known  as  the 
"Tube,"  is  in  the  hands  of  a  private  company,  oper- 
ating under  a  parliamentary  grant,  as  are  the  horse 
and  motor  'buses.  The  Council  is  also  the  owner 
of  a  steamboat  service  on  the  Thames.  This  service 
has  been  the  subject  of  much  adverse  criticism.  It 
has  never  proven  profitable  from  a  financial  point 
of  view,  and  the  conservative  press  have  found  in  it 
an  opportunity  for  criticism  of  the  entire  progres- 
sive movement. 

Opposition  to  the  public  ownership  of  the  tram- 
way, gas,  and  electricity  undertakings  is  still 
very  aggressive.  Parliament,  which  is  closely  identi- 
fied with  the  ownership  of  these  industries,  has  con- 
ceded that  they  are  naturally  public  ones,  and  in 


MUNICIPAL  TRADING  73 

case  of  controversy  the  award  is  usually  in  favour 
of  the  local  authority.  There  is  still  much,  opposi- 
tion to  trading,  but  it  is  almost  wholly  limited  to 
the  big  financial  interests  which  are  seeking  fran- 
chises. To  the  man  in  the  street,  the  case  for 
municipal  ownership  has  been  made.  It  is  no  longer 
a  question  of  propriety.  It  is  one  of  expediency, 
of  the  amount  of  money  which  must  be  paid  for 
the  undertaking,  and  the  ability  of  the  community 
to  make  it  pay.  The  gas  industry  is  still  largely 
in  the  hands  of  private  capital,  and  Parliament  is 
loath  to  permit  its  acquisition  by  the  towns  where 
the  service  rendered  is  satisfactory. 

At  the  present  time  nearly  all  of  the  large  towns 
have  municipalised  the  tramway,  gas,  electricity 
and  water  undertakings.  A  half  dozen  of  the 
greater  cities  have  private  tramways  and  an  equal 
number  have  private  gas  undertakings.  The  num- 
ber of  private  companies  is  constantly  diminishing, 
and  it  is  of  rare  occurrence  for  a  community  to 
abandon  its  plant  to  a  company,  although  a  few 
electricity  plants  have  changed  hands  in  this  way. 

The  Parliamentary  Committee  on  Municipal 
Trading,  appointed  in  1900,  did  not  limit  its  inves- 
tigation to  the  franchise  corporations  proper.  It 
included  in  its  report  the  markets,  baths  and  wash- 
houses,  burial  grounds,  slaughter  houses,  working 
men's  dwellings,  harbours,  docks  and  quays,  as 
well  as  some  other  enterprises  which  had  been  un- 


74  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

dertaken  by  reason  of  some  local  necessity.  These 
were  all  classed  as  trading  enterprises  and  are  in- 
cluded in  the  annual  returns  of  the  Board  of 
Trade.  The  critics  of  municipal  ownership  have 
insisted  that  all  these  enterprises  should  be  classed 
together  in  any  financial  showing.  The  reports 
which  are  made  and  those  which  reach  America 
attempt  to  discredit  the  movement  by  pointing  to 
the  deficits  which  some  of  these  undertakings  show. 

But  these  enterprises  were  never  expected  to 
make  a  profit.  In  most  instances  they  are  not  ex- 
pected to  pay  their  way.  They  have  been  under- 
taken for  the  same  reasons  that  the  cities  have 
opened  schools  and  libraries,  parks  and  play- 
grounds. The  docks  are  for  the  promotion  of  trade 
and  commerce.  The  baths  and  wash  houses  are  for 
sanitary  improvement.  The  model  dwellings  are 
for  the  relief  of  the  tenement  dweller.  They  have 
not  been  undertaken  with  any  expectation  of  mak- 
ing dividends.  But  the  opponents  of  trading  have 
made  use  of  their  deficits,  just  as  they  have  made 
use  of  the  increased  rates  which  have  been  imposed 
for  education,  to  bring  discredit  to  the  whole  move- 
ment. 

The  magnitude  of  the  trading  enterprises  of  the 
cities  is  still  further  seen  in  the  revenues  and  dis- 
bursements of  the  undertakings.  The  total  income 
of  the  towns  from  these  sources  amounted  in  1904 
to  nearly  $145,000,000.     This  was  equivalent  to 


MUNICIPAL  TEADING  75 

23  1-4  per  cent,  of  the  total  revenues  collected  from 
all  sources  in  England  and  Wales  and  to  39  per 
cent,  of  the  total  revenues  of  Scotland.  The  net 
earnings  from  these  enterprises,  even  with  those 
undertakings  included  which  should  not  properly 
be  classed  as  trading,  are  a  vindication  of  the 
policy  of  the  towns.  In  1904,  the  net  earnings  over 
and  above  operating  expenses,  in  England  and 
Wales,  amounted  to  f  2,258,685,  while  the  deficit  in 
Scotland  was,  but  $68,292.1 

This,  however,  is  municipal  trading  at  its  worst. 
For  the  baths,  the  washhouses,  the  workingmen's 
dwellings,  the  cemeteries,  and  in  many  instances 
the  docks  are  not  designed  to  make  a  profit.  More- 
over, in  computing  the  expenditures  of  these  enter- 
prises, sinking  fund  allowances,  taxes,  and  in 
many  instances  depreciation  and  reserves  are  en- 
tered as  part  of  the  costs  of  operation.  For  Par- 
liament is  very  careful  that  the  cities  should  not 
create  a  permanent  debt.  They  are  compelled  to 
set  aside  a  certain  percentage  of  the  capital  value 
of  the  loan  every  year  in  order  to  retire  the  indebt- 
edness at  the  end  of  approximately  thirty  years. 

The  financial  success  of  the  trading  enterprises 
proper  is  unquestioned.  The  tramway,  gas,  elec- 
tric lighting  and  water  plants  owned  by  the  cities 
yield  large  returns.  Only  in  rare  instances  have 
they  failed  to  meet  all  of  the  charges  against  them, 

'Municipal  Year  Book,  1907,  page  636. 


76  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

and  this  has  been  in  small  towns  or  in  the  early 
years  of  an  undertaking.  According  to  Sir  Henry 
Fowler's  Return  of  Reproductive  Undertakings, 
made  under  order  of  Parliament  and  brought 
down  to  March,  1002,  the  franchise  undertakings 
proper  had  repaid  indebtedness  out  of  their  earn- 
ings in  the  sum  of  $59,924,903.  The  amount  in  the 
sinking  funds  for  the  same  purpose  amounted  to 
$18,396,981  more.  This  was  in  addition  to  all  of 
the  operating  and  fixed  charges  of  the  plant  and 
the  payment  of  local  taxes  the  same  as  a  private 
company. 

Far  from  the  increase  in  the  local  indebtedness 
being  a  peril  to  the  municipalities,  the  trading  en- 
terprises have  created  a  splendid  surplus  in  excess 
of  the  debts  against  the  plants. 

Nor  are  these  enterprises  a  burden  to  the  tax 
payer  as  is  frequently  asserted.  The  reverse  is 
true.  They  contribute  substantial  sums  each  year 
to  the  treasuries  of  the  cities.  From  the  return 
referred  to  above  it  appears  that  the  average  gross 
profits,  covering  a  period  of  four  years  and  involv- 
ing 437  undertakings,  amounted  to  $21,202,334  a 
year.  From  this  sum  interest,  depreciation  and 
sinking  fund  allowances  had  to  be  made,  amount- 
ing to  $18,415,951.  A  balance  remained,  amount- 
ing to  $2,786,383  a  year.  It  was  usually  applied 
to  the  relief  of  taxation.1 

xThe  above  data  is  taken  from  a  report  by  the  author  to  the 


MUNICIPAL  TKADING  77 

The  largest  contributions  are  made  by  the  tram- 
way and  the  gas  enterprises.  According  to  the 
Board  of  Trade  Keturns,  for  the  year  1905-6,  the 
total  net  profits  of  the  gas  enterprises  amounted  to 
$3,883,000,  of  which  sum  $2,152,980  was  contrib- 
uted to  the  relief  of  the  rates.  For  the  same  year 
the  net  profits  of  the  tramway  undertakings  used 
for  the  same  purpose  amounted  to  $1,200,000,  if 
the  contribution  of  the  city  of  Glasgow  to  the  Com- 
mon Good  Fund  be  included. 

Referring  to  this  matter  the  Municipal  Year 
Book  says :  "Taking  the  really  remunerative  enter- 
prises, such  as  gas  works,  markets  and  tramways, 
it  will  be  found  that  they  earn  in  England  and 
Wales  a  clear  nett  profit  of  over  £1,367,000  ($6,- 
643,620),  and  in  Scotland  of  nearly  £62,600  ($304,- 
236),  equal  to  a  return  on  capital  of  2  per  cent,  in 
the  former  case  and  of  1|  per  cent,  in  the  latter. 
Tested  by  the  commercial  or  company  standard, 
the  gross  profit  shown  in  England  and  Wales  is 
£14,459,497  ($70,273,155),  and  in  Scotland  approx- 
imately £1,658,000  ($8,057,880),  or  about  7i  and  4| 
per  cent,  respectively  on  the  outstanding  capital."1 

Bureau  of  Labour,  Washington,  on  Municipal  Ownership  in 
Great  Britain  and  published  in  the  Bulletin  of  the  Depart- 
ment for  January,  1906. 

'Municipal  Year  Book,  1907,  page  636.  On  pages  652-3  of  the 
same  publication  is  a  table  showing  81  towns  whose  rates  were 
reduced  in  1906-7  from  a  few  pence  to  nearly  two  shillings  on 
the  pound  from  the  earnings  of  the  leading  enterprises  owned 
by  the  municipalities. 


78  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

For  the  year  1905-6,  it  appears  that  there  were 
four  public  tramways  that  showed  a  deficit  aver- 
aging the  sum  of  $2,500  each,  while  the  number  of 
gas  and  electric  lighting  enterprises  that  fail  to  do 
so  is  constantly  decreasing.  The  complaint  most 
commonly  heard  in  Great  Britain  is  not  that  these 
enterprises  are  a  burden  to  the  taxpayers,  it  is  that 
they  are  being  used  for  the  relief  of  taxation  rather 
than  for  the  reduction  of  rates  and  charges  to  the 
consumers. 

There  is  a  large  class  which  would  limit  the  ac- 
tivities of  the  city  to  the  so-called  natural  monopo- 
lies, to  industries  which  make  use  of  the  streets,  and 
are  closely  identified  with  the  well-being  of  the  com- 
munity and  the  administration  of  the  city.  Many 
of  these  men  have  been  identified  with  the  move- 
ment which  has  brought  about  the  present  exten- 
sion of  municipal  ownership.  They  see  a  principle 
which  justifies  the  city  in  operating  such  enter- 
prises as  are  monopolies  which  is  absent  from  in- 
dustries of  a  competitive  character.  And  they  re- 
sent the  socialistic  tendency  which  has  followed 
upon  the  heels  of  the  ownership  of  franchise  cor- 
porations, and  now  join  in  opposition  with  those 
who  are  opposed  to  any  public  ownership  whatever. 

But  democracy  is  likely  to  be  as  indifferent  to 
the  philosophic  distinctions  which  this  class  now 
makes  as  its  predecessors  were  indifferent  to  the 
bankers  and  brokers  who  opposed  the  early  move- 


MUNICIPAL  TRADING  79 

inent.  And  a  city  is  like  the  courts.  It  constantly 
tends  to  amplify  its  powers.  Moreover,  the  Labour 
party  is  avowedly  socialistic  in  its  ideals.  It  de- 
clines to  make  any  distinction  in  capitalistic  indus- 
try. It  struggles  to  increase  the  activity  of  the 
city,  partly  because  it  enlarges  the  number  of  mu- 
nicipal employees,  but  largely  because  it  looks 
to  a  changed  social  order  to  be  achieved  through 
municipal  socialism. 

It  is  this  spirit  that  is  behind  the  agitation  for 
municipal  milk  supplies  and  free  lunches  to  school- 
children; for  municipal  bureaus  of  public  employ- 
ment, as  well  as  many  other  enterprises  which 
promise  relief  from  the  poverty  and  disease  with 
which  the  English  city  is  afflicted. 

Municipal  trading  has  thus  become  a  very  much 
wider  issue  than  the  ownership  of  street  railways, 
gas,  electric  lighting,  and  water  services.  It  has 
always  included  markets,  baths,  and  sewage  farms. 
The  fearful  condition  of  the  tenements  has  forced 
many  of  the  larger  cities  to  become  landlords,  and 
to  erect  model  tenements.  Local  conditions,  too, 
have  produced  certain  local  enterprises.  The  city 
of  Brighton  owns  a  race-course  from  which  it  de- 
rives a  considerable  revenue.  Two  cities  have 
opened  municipal  theatres.  The  city  of  Glasgow 
has  acquired  a  number  of  town  halls,  where  con- 
certs, lectures,  and  entertainments  of  a  high  order 
are  given  at  a  nominal  cost.    Many  of  the  cities  sell 


80  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

gas  stoves  and  fittings;  while  others  have  opened 
electricity  supply  stores,  which  are  run  in  connec- 
tion with  their  lighting  plants.  Ice  is  sold  by  Wol- 
verhampton, and  West  Ham.  manufactures  its  own 
paving-stones. 

Many  other  proposals  are  in  the  stage  of  agita- 
tion and  discussion.  Some  of  the  towns  are  pro- 
moting the  idea  of  municipal  coal  mines  from  which 
to  supply  fuel  to  their  enterprises,  and  the  public 
as  well.  Municipal  insurance  schemes  are  discussed 
with  favour,  as  are  savings  banks  and  broker- 
age establishments  for  the  sale  of  public  securities. 
The  municipalisation  of  the  milk  supply  is  being 
waged,  as  well  as  the  production  of  ice.  The  city 
of  Manchester  has  enlarged  its  tramway  service  so 
as  to  include  the  delivery  of  packages  and  merchan- 
dise both  within  and  without  the  city.  The  purpose 
is  to  subordinate,  if  not  relieve  the  private  business 
houses  of  making  deliveries  to  their  customers. 
Docks  are  widely  owned  by  the  seacoast  towns,  al- 
though they  are  usually  administered  by  a  separate 
body  from  the  Council.  Municipal  slaughter  houses 
have  been  suggested,  as  well  as  the  utilisation  of 
sewage  farms  for  the  supply  of  food  and  grain  for 
the  city's  departments. 

Municipal  trading  is  very  elastic.  It  admits  of 
the  play  of  local  initiative  and  adapts  itself  to  local 
needs.  It  does  not  follow  any  definite  laws,  and 
promises  very  great  extension  as  the  years  go  on, 


MUNICIPAL  TKADING  81 

Much  of  it  is  rendered  necessary  by  the  close  asso- 
ciation which  city  life  entails.  It  is  demanded  by 
the  inadequacy  of  private  agencies.  Further  than 
this,  the  members  of  the  Councils  are  eager  to  en- 
large their  authority  and  try  their  hand  at  new 
ventures.  There  is  a  constant  pressure  from  the 
labouring  classes,  inspired  by  some  local  abuse  or 
the  ideals  of  a  socialised  city.  Moreover,  the  dis- 
ease, poverty,  and  distress  of  the  English  city  are 
so  universal  that  any  proposal  which  offers  relief 
meets  with  some  response. 

All  this  indicates  that  the  movement  toward  mu- 
nicipal trading  is  but  beginning.  It  knows  no 
bounds  but  those  imposed  by  failure.  For  the  rate- 
payers will  be  quick  to  command  a  halt  if  the  move- 
ment becomes  a  burden.  But  thus  far  the  trading 
enterprises  have  been  pretty  uniformly  successful. 
The  towns  can  borrow  at  low  rates  of  interest. 
They  have  confined  themselves  to  necessities  of  uni- 
versal use;  and  they  supply  an  immense  market. 
As  long  as  the  English  cities  confine  themselves 
to  such  enterprises  there  is  little  danger  of  failure, 
and  inasmuch  as  the  big  industries  which  the  cities 
have  taken  over  have  yielded  such  unquestioned  re- 
turns, it  is  a  difficult  matter  to  check  its  extension 
by  appealing  to  any  abstract  reasons  for  preferring 
private  to  public  authority. 


CHAPTER  VII 

THE  CITIES  AND  THE  TKAMWAYS 

The  monetary  test  of  municipal  ownership  is  not 
the  true  test,  although  the  rate-paying  classes  of 
Great  Britain  are  inclined  to  judge  it  on  this  basis; 
while  hostile  American  critics  confine  themselves  to 
earnings,  lack  of  proper  depreciation,  the  burdens 
of  taxation,  and  the  purely  commercial  side  of  the 
balance  sheet  They  would  make  of  the  city  a  thing 
that  pays,  for  these  are  the  terms  they  measure  life 
in.  But  such  are  not  the  motives  of  government, 
and  those  who  condemn  municipal  ownership  on 
this  score  do  not  adopt  this  measure  in  any  other 
activity.  They  do  not  test  the  schools,  the  parks, 
the  health,  police,  and  fire  departments  by  this 
standard.  These  are  not  called  upon  to  pay  their 
way.  They  are  supported  for  other  reasons — be- 
cause of  the  convenience,  the  comfort,  and  the  hap- 
piness which  they  bring.  And  this  is  the  real  test 
of  public  ownership.  The  discussion  should  be 
shifted  on  to  higher  ground.  It  is  not  profits,  not 
in  the  last  analysis  the  rates  of  fare  or  charges — 
it  is  the  well-being  of  the  people  that  tests  the 
change  from  private  to  public  control. 

82 


CITIES  AND  THE  TEAMWAYS  83 

Of  no  enterprise  is  this  so  true  as  it  is  of  transit. 
The  tramways  are  the  circulatory  system  of  the 
community,  and  a  conscious  city  programme  is  de- 
pendent upon  the  ownership  of  the  city's  arteries. 
The  means  of  transportation  fix  the  city's  bounda- 
ries. They  control  the  opportunity  to  work.  They 
cramp  or  enlarge  the  means  of  education  and  recre- 
ation. The  homes  men  live  in  are  bound  up  in  this 
question.  It  is  for  such  needs  as  these  that  govern- 
ment is  maintained;  and  it  is  only  when  a  city 
controls  these  agencies  for  its  own  good  that  a  big, 
comprehensive  policy  of  city  building  is  possible. 

Further  than  this,  the  control  of  the  streets  by 
two  competing  agencies  results  in  constant  fric- 
tion, controversy,  and  warring  of  interests.  It  can- 
not be  otherwise.  A  city  cannot  build  as  it  will  un- 
less it  controls  all  the  structural  work  which  lies 
under  or  upon  its  highways. 

The  British  cities  entered  upon  the  policy  of  own 
ership  only  after  the  alternative  of  private  owner 
ship  under  state  regulation  had  been  fully  tried 
Great  Britain  had  the  most  carefully  adjusted  sys 
tern  of  regulation  that  could  be  devised ;  but  regu 
lation  failed,  as  it  must  inevitably  fail.  The  con 
flict  of  interest  is  too  great  for  it  to  be  otherwise, 
There  were  two  masters — the  stockholders  of  the 
company,  and  the  people  of  the  community;  and 
the  interests  of  the  one  were  constantly  at  war  with 
the  other.     Parliament  surrounded  the  franchises 


84  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

with  many  restrictions,  but  it  rarely  imposed  the 
penalty,  for  the  class  in  control  of  Parliament  was 
largely  interested  in  the  franchise  monopolies. 
That,  too,  was  inevitable.  Whenever  a  government 
creates  a  privilege,  that  privilege  is  lured  into  the 
government;  and  if  it  is  big  enough  to  do  so,  it  be- 
comes the  government.  That  is  the  experience  of 
Great  Britain  just  as  it  is  of  America. 

The  Tramway  Act  of  1870  is  the  basis  of  all  street 
railway  legislation  and  construction  in  Great  Brit- 
ain. It  provided  that  the  cities  could  lay  the  tracks, 
but  could  not  operate  the  roads.  The  operation  was 
to  be  turned  over  to  a  private  company.  The  lease 
was  limited  to  twenty-one  years.  The  act  also  pro- 
vided that  the  cities  could  take  over  the  property 
at  the  expiration  of  the  grant  by  paying  for  its 
structural  value. 

Glasgow  was  the  first  city  to  take  advantage  of 
the  act.  A  horse  system  was  installed  by  a  private 
company  after  the  city  had  laid  the  tracks.  The 
grant  to  the  company  expired  in  1894.  The  com- 
pany desired  a  renewal  of  the  lease.  Negotiations 
to  that  end  were  pending  for  a  number  of  years. 
But  the  employees  were  overworked  and  underpaid. 
The  community  sympathised  with  the  men.  The 
company  would  not  admit  that  the  condition  of  the 
employees  was  any  business  of  the  city,  and  de- 
clined to  permit  the  question  of  wages  or  hours  of 
labour  to  enter  into  the  negotiations.    This  stimu- 


CITIES  AND  THE  TRAMWAYS  85 

lated  a  growing  sentiment  for  municipal  owner- 
ship.1 

The  question  was  agitated  for  several  years.  The 
matter  was  not  decided  by  a  referendum  vote  of 
the  people,  as  is  common  in  America,  but  was  the 
absorbing  issue  in  a  number  of  Council  elections. 
In  1894  the  Council  decided  to  take  over  the  lines. 
The  company  refused  to  sell  its  equipment,  and 
the  Council  had  to  purchase  its  horses  and  cars 
elsewhere.  The  result  was  a  total  loss  to  the  pri- 
vate company.  The  success  of  the  city  was  imme- 
diate. It  reduced  fares  thirty-three  per  cent,  and 
increased  the  length  of  the  hauls.  It  improved  the 
condition  of  the  employees  and  otherwise  sought 
to  serve  the  public.  The  experience  of  Glasgow 
stimulated  other  cities  to  take  over  the  enterprise. 
The  rate-payers  were  loath  to  see  a  private  company 
appropriating  earnings  which  might  be  used  for 
their  relief.  In  ten  years'  time  162  public  tramways 
had  been  opened,  and  to-day  all  the  leading  cities 
of  the  Kingdom,  with  the  exception  of  Edinburgh, 
Dublin,  Bristol,  Carlisle,  Cork,  and  Coventry,  own 
and  operate  their  own  tramway  lines.2 

Friction  over  wages  and  hours  of  labour  was  one 

^he  town  of  Huddersfield  had  operated  its  own  system  since 
1883.  No  private  company  would  undertake  the  working,  and 
the  Town  Council  both  built  and  operated  the  system. 

2Of  the  162  public  plants,  only  101  are  reported  as  both  own- 
ed and  operated  by  the  towns.  The  remaining  61  are  still  leased 
to  private  companies,  under  the  terms  of  the  original  act.  Sub- 
sequent statistics  are  for  those  operated  as  well  as  owned.  The 
number  of  private  companies  was  146  in  1904  and  137  in  1905. 


86  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

of  the  most  universal  causes  of  discontent  with  pri- 
vate ownership,  but  other  causes  contributed.  The 
private  tramways  were  being  operated  as  horse 
lines.  This  aroused  dissatisfaction  with  the  ser- 
vice. The  companies  felt  that  they  could  not  afford 
to  electro-equip  their  systems  when  their  franchises 
were  expiring,  and  they  would  only  do  so  on  con- 
dition of  their  renewal.  At  the  same  time  the  cities 
were  generally  taking  over  the  electricity  supply. 
They  saw  that  the  tramways  and  electric  lighting 
plants  could  be  united  with  great  economy.  These 
influences  co-operated  with  the  thrifty  desire  of  the 
rate-payers,  who  saw  in  the  tramway  enterprises  a 
means  of  relieving  their  taxes. 

But  the  Councils  could  only  enter  the  tramway 
business  by  buying  out  the  existing  companies.  For 
Parliament  did  not  permit  competition.  It  forced 
the  Councils  to  purchase  the  existing  equipment  of 
the  horse-car  lines,  even  though  it  had  become 
worthless.  Thus  many  cities  were  heavily  handi- 
capped through  the  initial  cost  of  the  horse  and  elec- 
tricity equipment.  In  many  towns,  too,  the  Council 
had  to  pay  for  unexpired  franchises.  Liverpool 
paid  a  private  company  three  million  dollars  to 
acquire  its  franchise,  and  another  million  for  its 
worthless  horse  equipment.  The  city  of  Manchester 
paid  |1,600,000  for  horse  cars  and  barns  which 
were  of  little  use,  while  other  towns  were  similarly 
burdened  in  the  inauguration  of  the  system.    The 


CITIES  AND  THE  TEAMWAYS  87 

companies,  however,  were  not  content  with  this. 
They  insisted  that  they  should  be  paid  the  capital- 
ised value  of  their  earnings  even  when  the  grants 
had  expired.  In  a  case  which  went  to  the  courts 
from  London  the  companies  demanded  $2,939,000 ; 
but  the  courts  decided  that  they  were  only  entitled 
to  compensation  for  the  physical  value  of  the  plant, 
and  reduced  the  sum  to  $439,400. 

The  following  comparison  shows  the  number  of 
undertakings  owned  and  actually  worked  by  the 
local  authorities  and  the  private  companies,  the 
data  for  the  public  plants  being  for  the  year  ending 
March,  1904;  and  that  for  the  private  companies 
for  the  year  ending  December  21,  1903  :x 

Municipal  Private 

Undertakings.  Companies. 

Undertakings  worked 101  113 

Capital  outlay    of    undertakings 

worked $117,440,724  $104,986,367 

Miles  of  line  operated 993  839 

Gross  receipts $26,069,680  $15,805,988 

Operating  expenses $16,706,184  $10,997,701 

Per  cent,  of  operating  expenses 

of  gross  receipts 64.08  69.58 

Net  revenue  (gross  receipts  less 

operating  expenses) $9,363,496  $4,808,287 

Per  cent,  of  net  revenue  of  capi- 
tal outlay 7.97  4.58 

Car  miles  run 126,289,037  68,612,290 

Net  revenue  per  car  mile $0,074  $0,070 

Net  revenue  per  mile  of  line  oper- 
ated      $9,430  $5,731 

Passengers   carried 1,194,782,762  604,559,911 

From  this  it  appears  that  the  gross  receipts  of  the 

^Municipal  Journal,  March  10,  1905.  Summary  of  the  Board 
of  Trade  Return  of  the  Street  and  Road  Tramways  and  Light 
Railways  for  1903-04.  The  Board  of  Trade  Returns  are  official 
and  are  published  each  year  from  reports  of  the  Councils  and 
the  companies. 


gg  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

public  plants  were  $10,263,692  more  than  the  re- 
ceipts of  the  private  companies.  Their  operating 
expenses  were  but  64.08  per  cent,  of  the  gross  re- 
ceipts, as  against  an  operating  expense  of  69.58  per 
cent,  on  the  part  of  the  companies.  In  the  matter 
of  net  earnings  the  showing  was  equally  favourable. 
The  Town  Councils  earned  7.97  per  cent,  on  their 
capital  investment,  as  against  4.58  per  cent,  by  the 
companies.  And  this  is  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that 
the  Councils  pay  much  better  wages  and  allow 
shorter  hours  of  labour  to  their  employees,  while 
the  rates  of  fares  are  generally  lower.  A  portion 
of  this  advantage  is  to  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact 
that  almost  all  of  the  larger  towns  have  municipal- 
ised their  systems,  while  many  of  the  private  com- 
panies operate  in  less  populous  areas.  For  the 
Council  tramways  carried  nearly  twice  as  many 
passengers  as  did  the  private  companies  with  only 
about  twelve  per  cent,  greater  trackage.1 

Tramway  ownership  is  now  accepted  as  a  nat- 
ural municipal  function.  By  1906  the  total  capital 
outlay  of  the  towns  amounted  to  $180,580,590,  as 
against  an  investment  of  $102,162,060  by  the  one 
hundred  and  thirty -seven  private  companies.2 

*For  a  further  and  more  detailed  statement  of  the  subject 
of  municipal  ownership,  reference  is  made  to  a  Bulletin  of 
the  Bureau  of  Labour,  Washington,  January,  1906,  prepared 
by  the  author. 

*The  Board  of  Trade  Tramways  and  Light  Railways  Return 
for  1905-1906  shows  a  continuing  increase  in  the  number,  mile- 
age and  earning  of  the  public  enterprises.  According  to  this 
report,  175  undertakings  were  then  owned  by  the  local  author- 


CITIES  AND  THE  TRAMWAYS  89 

TBAMWAY  CONSTRUCTION 

English  street  railways  are  constructed  with 
much  more  permanence  than  are  those  of  the  Amer- 
ican companies.  This  is  true  of  private  as  well  as 
public  undertakings.  Parliament  has  carefully  pre- 
scribed the  methods  which  must  be  followed  by  the 
builders.  But  little  latitude  is  left  to  the  commu- 
nity, and  the  construction  is  very  costly.  The  girder 
groove  rail  is  universally  used.  The  overhead  work 
is  very  substantial.  Many  of  the  towns  have  erected 
splendid  shops  for  the  repair  and  construction  of 
cars.  In  consequence  the  capital  outlay  has  been 
very  heavy.  In  Glasgow  it  amounts  to  $93,305  per 
mile  of  single  track,  in  Liverpool  to  $90,536.  The 
London  County  Council  reports  a  cost  of  $106,033 

ities,  and  of  these  123  were  worked  by  the  councils.  Their 
capital  outlay  had  been  increased  by  $13,000,000  during  the 
year,  while  the  receipts  had  increased  by  $3,700,000.  The  net 
revenue  of  the  public  tramways,  over  and  above  operating  ex- 
penses, amounted  to  nearly  $12,000,000,  and  was  equivalent 
to  eight  per  cent,  on  the  capital  account,  and  the  average  fare 
per  passenger,  of  which  there  were  1,529,596,438,  upon  all  of 
the  undertakings  was  2.1  cents. 

For  the  same  period  there  were  137  private  companies. 
They  carried  about  half  as  many  passengers  as  the  public 
undertakings,  and  earned  but  4%  per  cent,  on  their  capital. 
The  average  fare  per  passenger  was  2.4  cents  During  the 
year  the  public  undertakings  relieved  the  rates  to  the  extent 
of  $1,200,000,  if  we  include  the  contribution  of  Glasgow  to 
the  Common  Good  Fund.  This  was  in  addition  to  the  debt 
repayment  charges,  the  reserve  funds  and  depreciation.  Only 
four  public  undertakings  and  five  companies  reported  any 
loss,  the  average  of  the  former  being  but  $2,500,  and  $4,600 
in  the  latter.    All  of  these  were  in  small  towns. 


90  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

per  mile.  It  is  difficult  to  get  at  the  exact  figures 
of  cost  per  mile  because  of  the  lack  of  any  uniform 
system  of  cost  distribution;  but  on  the  whole,  the 
average  cost  seems  very  much  in  excess  of  that  in 
the  United  States. 

The  Town  Councils  have  full  control  of  the  rates 
of  fare,  the  distribution  of  earnings,  and  the  details 
of  administration ;  but  Parliament  prescribes  many 
of  the  conditions,  such  as  the  speed  at  which  the 
cars  may  run,  the  time  of  debt  repayment,  the  exten- 
sion of  trackage  into  surrounding  territory.  A  city 
may  not  carry  parcels  at  its  own  volition.  It  must 
first  secure  authority  at  Westminster.  It  cannot 
change  the  motive  power,  or  otherwise  depart  from 
the  rules  of  the  Board  of  Trade. 

One  is  impressed  at  every  turn  with  the  constant 
thoughtfulness  of  the  comfort  of  the  people.  Acci- 
dents are  of  rare  occurrence.  In  Liverpool  there 
was  but  one  fatal  accident  in  eighteen  months  from 
persons  getting  underneath  the  trucks,  and  that  was 
due  to  suicidal  attempt  or  gross  carelessness.  In 
1904  there  were  but  six  fatal  accidents  in  that  city. 
The  same  policy  is  manifest  in  the  cleanliness  and 
attractiveness  of  the  cars.  In  Glasgow,  all  adver- 
tisements are  excluded.  In  all  cities  one  usually 
obtains  a  seat  for  a  fare.  The  double-decker  type  of 
car  is  all  but  universal,  and  is  so  constructed  that 
it  may  be  opened  or  closed  at  the  will  of  the  passen- 
ger.   Employees  are  universally  courteous,  and  are 


CITIES  AND  THE  TRAMWAYS  91 

very  jealous  of  their  jobs.  They  are  compelled  to 
be  considerate  of  the  public  because  every  rider  has 
a  sense  of  proprietorship  in  the  enterprise.  This 
makes  the  employee  as  well  as  the  Council  respon- 
sive to  public  sentiment,  and  constantly  on  the  alert 
to  better  conditions  and  adopt  new  devices.  The 
attitude  of  the  public  is  in  marked  contrast  to  that 
of  the  average  American  toward  a  private  company 
in  which  he  has  no  interest  and  over  which  he  can 
have  no  control. 

The  zone  system  is  universal  in  Great  Britain. 
Fares  are  graded  according  to  the  distance  trav- 
elled. This  idea  was  introduced  by  the  private  com- 
panies, and  the  Councils  have  not  seen  fit  to 
abandon  it.  Routes  are  divided  into  stages,  upon 
each  of  which  a  fare  of  from  one  to  two  cents  is 
collected.  The  total  fare  for  a  long  haul  may  be 
as  much  as  six  or  eight  cents,  but  the  average  rate 
of  fare  is  very  much  less.  And  it  is  the  average  fare 
paid  that  determines  the  cost  to  the  travelling  pub- 
lic. Transfers  are  rarely  given.  The  average  fare 
per  rider,  irrespective  of  distance  travelled,  ranges 
from  1.30  cents  in  East  Ham  to  3.17  cents  in  Black- 
pool. The  average  fare  in  Glasgow  is  1.89  cents; 
in  Bradford,  2.38  cents;  in  Manchester,  2.44  cents; 
and  in  Liverpool,  2.25  cents.  In  the  seven  leading 
cities  of  the  Kingdom  the  average  distance  that 
may  be  travelled  for  two  cents  ranges  from  one  and 
one-half  miles  in  Newcastle  to  two  and  one-half 


92  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

miles  in  Sheffield.  Taking  the  reports  of  forty- 
nine  cities,  it  appears  that  the  average  distance 
travelled  for  two  cents  varies  from  nine-tenths 
of  a  mile  to  two  and  twenty-five  hundredths  of 
a  mile. 

Some  of  the  cities  have  adopted  a  one  cent  fare 
stage.  In  Glasgow,  29.9  of  the  passengers  paid  but 
one  cent  in  1905.  The  percentage  of  one  cent  fares 
on  the  London  County  Council's  line  was  35.97,  and 
in  Sheffield  19.34.  American  critics  of  municipal 
ownership  invariably  point  to  the  great  distance 
which  may  be  travelled  for  a  uniform  fare  in  Amer- 
ica. But  the  test  is  not  the  possible  distance;  it  is 
the  average  distance  travelled.  And  while  the  aver- 
age haul  in  America  is  certainly  longer  than  it  is 
in  England,  it  is  also  true  that  the  dispersion  of 
our  population  necessitates  a  very  much  more  uni- 
versal use  of  transit  than  do  the  conditions  of  the 
English  cities.  The  increased  operating  expenses 
in  America  are  pretty  nearly  overcome  by  the  inter- 
mediate hauls  which  this  makes  necessary.  Despite 
these  conditions  it  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the 
cost  to  the  riding  public  is  very  much  less  in  Great 
Britain  than  it  is  in  America.  The  average  fare 
paid  on  all  of  the  public  tramways  was  but  2.1 
cents  in  1906.  If  we  assume  that  the  average  fare  in 
America  is  five  cents,  this  is  equivalent  to  a  saving 
to  the  public  of  Great  Britain  over  what  a  similar 
number  of  riders  would  have  paid  in  this  country  of 


CITIES  AND  THE  TKAMWAYS  93 

$45,695,333.    However,   the   rate  on    the   private 
British  companies  was  but  2.4  cents. 

The  British  city  has  demonstrated  that  low  fares 
pay.  Many  managers  insist  that  this  is  the  explan- 
ation of  the  success  of  the  public  undertakings.  A 
great  increase  in  traffic  followed  the  reduction  in 
fares.  It  became  cheaper  to  ride  than  to  walk. 
Frequent  car  schedules  are  maintained,  and  seats 
are  almost  always  provided  for  the  passengers.  The 
number  permitted  to  stand  is  limited  to  from  four 
to  six,  and  this  in  itself  insures  greater  comfort  to 
the  riding  public. 

Whatever  the  cause  of  the  financial  success  of  the 
municipal  tramways,  the  earnings  greatly  increased 
subsequent  to  municipalisation  and  the  reduction  of 
fares.  The  people  use  the  cars  freely  because  they 
feel  that  they  own  the  cars.  All  earnings  come 
back  to  them  in  some  form  or  other.  In  Glasgow, 
the  number  of  passengers  carried  increased  nearly 
300  per  cent  in  eight  years'  time,  from  1897  to  1904. 
In  Manchester,  the  number  carried  increased  from 
67,000,000  in  1903  to  127,000,000  in  1905.  In  Lon- 
don, the  growth  was  from  120,000,000  in  1902  to 
165,000,000  in  1905.  This  increase  in  traffic  was 
coincident  with  the  introduction  of  electricity  and 
the  extension  of  the  system;  but  no  small  part  of 
the  growth  was  due  to  the  policy  of  low  fares,  and 
the  stimulus  to  use  which  followed  from  a  sense  of 
ownership. 


94  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

Earnings,  too,  responded  to  the  increase  in  traf- 
fic. The  number  of  short-haul  passengers  more 
than  compensated  for  the  reduction  in  charge.  This 
seems  to  have  been  the  universal  experience  of  the 
English  cities,  whether  in  tramway,  gas,  or  electric- 
ity supplies.  In  America,  monopoly  seeks  the  high- 
est immediate  returns,  and  dares  not  experiment 
with  reduced  fares  or  charges.  It  fears  a  reduction 
of  its  dividends  or  a  disturbance  of  its  stock  quo- 
tations. Under  public  ownership,  however,  the 
cities  can  do  as  they  will.  They  can  improve  the 
service  rendered  or  reduce  its  cost  to  the  commu- 
nity. Through  these  means  the  community  can 
determine  the  point  of  maximum  returns  to  itself, 
a  thing  that  is  impossible  when  the  service  is  in 
private  hands. 

Parliament  requires  all  enterprises  operated  by 
the  cities  to  pay  taxes,  the  same  as  private  com- 
panies, and  on  the  same  basis.  They  must  also  pro- 
vide a  sinking  fund  for  the  ultimate  retirement  of 
the  debt.  The  time  of  repayment  ranges  from  fif- 
teen to  sixty  years,  according  to  the  life  of  the 
investment.  The  period  of  debt  repayment  averages 
about  thirty  years,  and  involves  an  annual  sinking 
fund  charge  of  about  three  per  cent.  In  addition 
to  these  burdens,  which  are  usually  ignored  by 
American  critics,  the  city  maintains  the  plant  at 
its  original  efficiency  out  of  earnings.  When  the 
debt  is  repaid  the  enterprise  will  be  owned  by  the 


CITIES  AND  THE  TRAMWAYS  95 

community  free  from  obligation.  Many  cities  have 
done  much  better  than  this.  They  have  improved 
the  property  out  of  earnings,  or  provided  a  reserve 
fund  which  will  retire  the  obligations  in  a  much 
shorter  period  than  that  provided  by  Parliament. 

The  financing  of  municipal  industries  is  very 
conservative,  too  conservative  to  be  fair  to  the  pres- 
ent generation.  This  is  due  to  the  terror  which 
the  average  Councilman  feels  of  the  rate-paying 
classes,  and  the  fear  that  some  new  invention  may 
render  obsolete  the  undertaking  itself.  For  in- 
stance, in  the  year  1905  the  Glasgow  tramways 
earned  $1,852,854  over  operating  costs.  Of  this 
sum,  $1,550,025  was  used  for  debt  repayment,  de- 
preciation, renewals,  reserve,  and  the  Common 
Good.1  All  of  this  sum  went  into  the  property  in 
some  form  or  other. 

The  average  fare  in  that  year  was  but  1.89  cents. 
Yet  the  earnings  on  this  basis  were  so  heavy  that 
the  Council  could  have  reduced  all  fares,  irrespect- 
ive of  distance,  to  the  insignificant  charge  of  one 
cent  and  still  have  met  all  operating  expenses,  de- 
preciation, and  taxation.2 

^he  Common  Good  fund  is  a  special  fund,  existing  only  in 
the  Scottish  cities.  It  is  a  reservoir  upon  which  the  Council 
may  draw  for  emergencies,  and  into  which  earnings  are  placed 
which  may  not  be  used  for  other  purposes.  For  the  Scottish 
cities  do  not  use  excess  earnings  from  their  industries  for  the 
relief  of  taxation. 

^Reports  which  come  to  America  of  the  failure  of  trading 
in  Great  Britain,  of  increased  taxation,  of  inadequate  allow- 
ance for  depreciation,  should  all  be  taken  with  large  allowance. 


96  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

In  1905  the  assets  of  the  Glasgow  tramways  were 
valued  at  $14,965,305.  The  indebtedness  against 
the  plant  was  but  $8,835,939.  In  eleven  years'  time 
the  debt  has  been  decreased  by  $6,129,366,  while 
$826,873  more  had  been  paid  into  the  Common 
Good,  and  $767,136  had  been  paid  in  taxes.  But 
this  is  not  all.  For  the  travelling  public  has  been 
saved  $940,000  a  year  through  the  reduction  of 
fares,  while  half  a  million  a  year  has  been  added  to 
operating  costs  in  improving  the  condition  of  the 
wage-earners  through  shorter  hours  and  higher  pay. 
Taking  all  these  things  into  consideration,  the  tram- 
way system  of  Glasgow  has  already  more  than  paid 
for  itself  out  of  earnings  and  savings  to  the  people 
in  eleven  years'  time. 

The  financial  success  of  other  towns  is  scarcely 
less  remarkable.  The  city  of  Liverpool  reduced 
fares  75  per  cent,  when  it  took  over  the  tramways, 
and  saved  the  travelling  public  two  million  dollars 
a  year  by  this  means.     Its  employees  receive  $194,- 

Many  of  them  are  wholly  false.  All  of  them  attempt  a  com- 
parison of  words,  but  not  of  facts.  English  standards  and 
Parliamentary  requirements  are  so  different  from  our  own 
that  the  strictures  on  the  English  cities  carry  a  wholly  false 
impression.  At  the  same  time,  some  of  the  cities  have  refused 
to  adopt  the  Glasgow  standard  of  debt  repayment  and  depre- 
ciation. They  have  followed  a  policy  of  reducing  the  cost  to 
the  present  generation  rather  than  of  paying  for  the  plant  out 
of  immediate  earnings.  And  when  it  is  considered  that  even 
these  cities  take  care  of  all  operating  charges,  make  due  allow- 
ance for  maintenance  and  repairs,  and,  in  addition,  provide 
for  the  retirement  of  the  debt  out  of  earnings,  it  is  manifest 
that  the  least  conservative  cities  do  much  more  than  Ameri- 
can standards  demand  of  private  management. 


CITIES  AND  THE  TKAMWAYS  97 

600  a  year  more  than  they  would  have  been  paid  at 
the  rate  of  wages  prevailing  under  the  private  com- 
pany. Yet  in  the  face  of  these  charges  the  system 
will  be  free  from  indebtedness  in  about  twelve 
years'  time  at  the  present  rate  of  debt  repayment. 
In  seven  years'  time  $2,849,993  has  been  set  aside 
for  this  purpose,  only  five  of  which  years  were  of 
electric  operation. 

Measured  by  the  returns  on  capital  invested,  the 
tramways  are  equally  successful.  In  1905  the  net 
revenue  of  the  Glasgow  system  amounted  to  13.78 
per  cent,  of  the  total  capital  employed,  and  21.35 
per  cent,  on  the  outstanding  indebtedness.  The 
same  year  Manchester  earned  13.88  per  cent,  on  its 
capital,  Liverpool  earned  9.86,  and  Leeds  11.98. 

THE  RELIEF  OF  TAXATION 

In  England,  but  not  in  Scotland,  the  tramways 
are  used  to  relieve  the  burdens  of  taxation.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Board  of  Trade  Returns,  contributions  to 
the  rates  from  this  source  amounted  to  $1,007,789 
in  1904.  In  many  of  the  larger  towns,  as  appears 
in  the  following  table,  the  relief  afforded  was  very 
substantial.    The  statistics  are  for  the  fiscal  year 

1903-04  :                                                     Miles  of  Contributions 

Year  opened  single  of  tramways 

as  municipal  track  in  relief  of 

City.                  Popul'n.  undertakings,     open.  taxation. 

Leeds 450,142             1894  81.56  $253,058 

Manchester....     625,324             1901  137.91  243,325 

Liverpool 710,337            1897  103.00  156,122 

Nottingham...     239,753             1901  30.12  63,265 

Salford 228,983             1901  53.54  58,398 

Hull 240,702            1899  27.10  55,965 


98  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

THE  REAL  GAINS  FROM  MUNICIPAL  OWNERSHIP 

From  a  purely  commercial  side,  municipal  tram- 
ways have  succeeded  beyond  the  point  of  dispute. 
Only  in  rare  instances  have  their  financial  achieve- 
ments been  questioned.  They  have  saved  the  trav- 
elling public  millions  of  dollars  a  year  in  lower 
fares.  They  have  elevated  the  standard  of  living 
of  thousands  of  employees,  whose  positions  have 
become  more  secure  and  far  more  dignified.  In  be- 
coming servants  of  the  public  they  have  been  re- 
moved from  the  fear  of  arbitrary  dismissal.  Millions 
of  dollars  have  been  used  to  relieve  the  overbur- 
dened rate-payers,  while  the  people  have  acquired 
properties  whose  value,  by  reason  of  debt  repay- 
ment, now  far  exceeds  the  indebtedness  of  the  un- 
dertakings. All  of  this  is  important,  especially  im- 
portant in  a  country  where  the  system  of  local  taxa- 
tion is  so  adjusted  that  it  falls  most  heavily  upon 
the  poor. 

But  the  real  gains  through  municipal  ownership 
are  of  another  and  a  higher  sort.  They  do  not  ap- 
pear in  the  reports  of  tramway  managers  or  in  the 
Annual  Budget  of  the  Town  Councils.  Neither  are 
they  referred  to  in  the  Blue  Books  of  Parliament. 
But  they  are  far  more  substantial  than  the  financial 
gains  or  the  improvement  in  the  well-being  of  the 
people.  They  are  of  an  ethical  sort.  The  public 
now  receives  the  consideration  which  formerly  went 


CITIES  AND  THE  TRAMWAYS  99 

to  the  stockholders.  For  the  people  are  the  owners, 
and  are  able  to  register  their  opinions  or  their  pro- 
tests at  the  polls.  In  consequence,  the  best  of  ser- 
vice is  rendered.  The  employees  are  courteous. 
The  members  of  the  Council  and  the  managers  are 
constrained  to  increase  the  efficiency  of  the  plant. 
They  are  open  to  counsel  or  criticism.  They  are 
ready  to  adopt  improved  devices.  The  safety  of 
the  public  is  safeguarded  in  every  conceivable  way, 
and  deaths  and  accidents  are  of  comparatively  rare 
occurrence.  The  number  of  persons  injured  is  in- 
significant in  comparison  with  the  death-rolls  of 
the  private  companies  in  America. 

But  this  is  not  all.  The  tramways  are  the  most 
spectacular  possession  of  the  cities.  They  touch 
the  citizen  in  countless  ways.  They  are  constantly 
under  inspection.  Each  day  they  bring  a  sense  of 
the  city  to  the  people.  Through  this  means  their 
affection  is  awakened,  their  interest  is  kept  alert. 
The  tramways  are  a  topic  of  constant  discussion. 
The  achievements  of  other  towns  are  followed.  The 
earnings,  rates  of  fares,  and  disposal  of  the  surplus 
form  a  matter  of  discussion  in  the  Council  and  on 
the  part  of  the  people.  When  a  new  tramway  is 
opened  it  is  a  gala  day  with  the  community.  Busi- 
ness is  suspended,  and  the  people  turn  out  as  to  a 
fete.    It  is  a  day  of  general  rejoicing. 

The  renaissance  of  local  government  in  Great 
Britain  is  coincident  with  the  period  of  trading, 


100  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

which  covers  the  past  ten  years.  And  critics  agree 
that  the  enthusiasm  and  interest  of  the  people  is  in 
no  small  measure  attributable  to  the  increase  in 
public  undertakings. 

Of  no  industry  is  this  so  true  as  of  the  tramways. 
Management  is  open  to  scrutiny  and  observation. 
It  is  this  fact  that  makes  the  public  ownership  of 
the  tramways  a  simpler  and  a  far  safer  undertak- 
ing than  that  of  those  industries  whose  operation 
can  be  hidden  from  the  people  and  conducted  be- 
hind closed  doors. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  GAS  SUPPLY 

The  gas  supply  is  still  largely  in  private  hands. 
It  is  not  so  universally  municipalised  as  are  the 
water,  electric  lighting,  and  tramway  undertakings. 
This  is  due  to  several  causes.  The  industry  was 
firmly  established  by  private  enterprises  long  be- 
fore the  movement  for  municipal  trading  had  gained 
much  headway.  The  franchises  were  in  perpetuity, 
and  of  great  value.  Parliament  does  not  permit 
of  competition  by  the  municipality,  and  has  estab- 
lished a  rule  which  discountenances  compulsory 
purchase  if  the  service  of  the  private  companies  is 
satisfactory.  The  acquisition  of  the  plants  by  the 
towns  involves  a  heavy  financial  burden  even  when 
Parliament  permits  them  to  be  taken  over.  For 
the  franchises  have  to  be  paid  for.  In  addition  to 
this,  the  cities  have  had  their  hands  full  with  the 
electric  lighting  and  tramway  enterprises.  The  lat- 
ter industries  are  of  comparatively  recent  develop- 
ment. The  Councils,  threatened  with  private  fran- 
chises which  could  only  be  taken  over  at  great  cost 
to  the  community,  anticipated  the  private  com- 
panies and  secured  the  power  of  working  the  indus- 
tries themselves.    But  in  order  to  retain  the  privi- 

101 


102  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

lege  it  had  to  be  developed.  In  consequence,  the 
cities  have  promoted  electric  lighting  and  tram- 
way undertakings  very  much  more  universally  than 
they  have  the  gas  enterprises. 

Further  than  this,  the  supervision  by  Parliament 
of  the  private  gas  companies  is  rather  more  efficient 
than  in  any  other  industry.  Charges  are  kept  at 
a  moderate  limit,  and  the  watering  of  stock  is  pro- 
hibited. Capital  is  limited  in  its  dividends,  and  all 
new  capital  is  required  to  be  sold  at  public  sale. 
Even  the  surplus  realised  from  the  sale  of  stock  is 
required  to  be  used  in  the  plant  itself.  For  every 
two  cents  increase  in  the  charge  for  gas  dividends 
are  reduced  by  one-fourth  of  one  per  cent,  and  for 
every  reduction  of  two  cents  a  like  increase  in  divi- 
dends may  be  declared. 

Despite  these  limitations  there  were  260  public 
gas  supplies,  as  against  459  private  plants,  in  the 
United  Kingdom  in  1904.  The  public  plants  in- 
cluded nearly  all  of  the  large  cities,  with  the  excep- 
tions of  London,  Liverpool,  Newcastle-on-Tyne,  and 
Sheffield.  This  in  part  accounts  for  the  fact  that 
the  public  plants  had  nearly  as  many  consumers 
as  did  the  private  ones,  although  they  operated  in 
a  very  much  smaller  number  of  cities.  Some  indi- 
cation of  the  relative  standing  of  the  public  and 
private  undertakings  appears  from  the  following 
table,  taken  from  the  Board  of  Trade  Returns  for 
the  year  1904: 


THE  GAS  SUPPLY  103 

'STATISTICS  OF  PUBLIC  AND  PRIVATE  GAS  UNDERTAK- 
INGS IN  THE  UNITED  KINGDOM. 

Public  Private 

enterprises,  companies, 

year  ending  year  ending 

Items.                                            March  25, 1904.  Dec.  31, 1903. 

Number  of  undertakings. 260  459 

Capital     outlay    (not    deducting 

amount  repaid) $180,563,107  $393,594,860 

Gross   receipts $47,787,497  $86,412,620 

Operating   expenses $34,951,242  $64,307,498 

Per  cent,  of  operating  expenses  of 

gross  receipts 73.14  74.42 

Net  receipts    (gross  receipts  less 

operating   expenses) $12,836,255  $22,105,122 

Per  cent,  of  net  receipts  of  capi- 
tal   outlay 7.11  5.62 

Gas  sold,  in  1,000  cubic  feet 57,754,404  93,923,290 

Length  of  mains,  in  miles 11,952  18,074 

Number  of  consumers 2,045,777  2,385,348 

Number  of  public  lamps  lighted             301,308  335,363 
Approximate  average  charge  per 

1,000  cubic  feet $0.65  $0.71 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  the  average 
charge  per  1,000  cubic  feet  by  the  public  companies 
was  six  cents  less  than  the  average  price  of  the  pri- 
vate ones,  while  the  net  earnings  on  the  capital  in- 
vested by  the  public  plants  is  considerably  higher, 
being  7.11  per  cent,  in  one  case  and  5.02  per  cent, 
in  the  other.  The  candle-power  does  not  differ  ma- 
terially, and  is  always  fixed  by  Parliament.  In 
many  cities  the  average  price  charged  is  very  much 
below  sixty-five  cents,  as  appears  from  the  follow- 
ing table,  taken  from  the  same  source  as  the  above: 

]The  statistics  here  given  are  taken  from  a  Report  published 
by  the  Department  of  Labour  (Washington)  Bulletin,  January, 
1906. 


104  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

PRICE  PER  1,000   CUBIC   FEET  CHARGED   CONSUMERS, 

AND  CANDLE-POWER  OF  GAS  IN  CERTAIN  PUB- 
LIC PLANTS,  1903-04. 

Candle- 
Population      Price  per  power 
City.                                         (1901).       1,000  cu.  ft.  of  gas. 

Belfast    348,965             *$0.55  17.46 

Birmingham 522,204            .42-.58  16.28 

Blackpool    47,346                  .57  19.00 

Bradford 279,767                t-55  17.25 

Bury  58,029                  .53  19.02 

Carlisle  45,478                  .55  20.00 

Darlington  44,496                 .49  16.50 

Glasgow 735,906                  .57  21.00 

Lancaster  40,329                  .55  19.00 

Leeds   428,968                 .52  18.38 

Lincoln  48,784                 .44  16.88 

Nottingham 239,743            .53-.65  16.50 

Widnes 28,580            .28-.32  18.16 

In  some  instances  the  present  rate  is  still  lower. 
In  Belfast  it  is  51  cents,  in  Glasgow  51  cents,  and 
in  Lancaster  49  cents. 

The  above  tables  do  not  confirm  the  argument 
that  the  public  is  of  necessity  a  bad  manager ;  that 
its  costs  are  higher ;  its  service  of  an  inferior  sort, 
or  that  it  is  unwilling  or  too  ignorant  to  introduce 
improvements.  For  not  only  do  the  Town  Councils 
average  a  higher  per  cent,  in  earnings,  but  the  oper- 
ating costs  of  the  municipalities  are  somewhat 
lower  than  those  of  the  private  companies.  All  this 
is  in  addition  to  the  fact  that  they  pay  their  em- 
ployees better,  and  in  many  instances  supply  free 

♦Less  discount  of  2%  to  20  per  cent,  according  to  consump- 
tion. 

fLess  discount  of  5  to  12%  per  cent.,  according  to  consump- 
tion. 


,THE  GAS  SUPPLY]  105 

gas  to  the  community.  There  have  been  no  sub- 
stantial changes  in  these  figures  during  the  inter- 
vening years.  The  Board  of  Trade  Returns,  issued 
in  January,  1907,  for  the  year  1905-6,  shows  that 
there  are  now  270  gas  undertakings  in  municipal 
hands  in  the  United  Kingdom,  and  482  private 
companies.  According  to  the  Municipal  Journal1 
the  return  "reinforces  more  vigorously  than  ever 
the  arguments  of  those  who  favor  the  application 
of  the  municipal  trading  principle  to  indispensible 
public  services  of  this  character.  *  *  *  The  record 
of  the  companies  is  still  greatly  inferior  to  that  of 
local  authorities,  which  continue  to  operate  more 
economically,  charge  consumers  less  and  earn  a 
better  return  on  capital  than  their  private  com- 
petitors. *  *  *  The  difference  between  the  private 
and  the  public  charge  is  now  5£  cents  per  1,000  ft. 
in  favor  of  the  latter,  and  if  the  local  authorities 
charged  as  much  as  the  companies  they  could  add 
£693,908,  (or  $3,372,292)  to  their  net  revenue  and 
raise  the  return  on  their  capital  from  6|  to  8|  per 
cent."  According  to  the  returns  the  average  price 
of  gas  by  the  local  authorities  was  59|  cents  and 
of  the  companies  65  cents.  The  total  net  profit  of 
the  public  undertakings  for  the  year  was  $3,883,- 
000,  of  which  sum  $2,152,980  was  used  for  the  re- 
lief of  local  taxation. 
/From  a  financial  point  of  view,  the  gas  enter- 

Tebruary  8,  1907. 


106  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

prises  have  proved  an  unquestioned  success.  Like 
the  tramways,  they  are  compelled  to  provide  for 
debt  repayment  and  taxation  out  of  earnings.  Many 
cities  have  already  materially  reduced  their  capital 
outlay  and  at  the  same  time  greatly  increased  the 
value  of  their  plants.  In  England,  the  gas  industry 
is  widely  used  to  relieve  the  rates.  The  contribu- 
tions range  from  a  few  hundred  pounds  to  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars  per  annum.  In  1905  the 
city  of  Birmingham  contributed  to  the  relief  of 
taxation  the  sum  of  f 265,351;  while  Manchester 
contributed  $291,990,  and  Leicester  $228,764.  And 
all  of  these  towns  sold  gas  for  less  than  60  cents 
a  thousand  cubic  feet.  Taking  the  260  plants 
owned  by  the  towns  in  1904,  it  appears  that  they 
have  retired  their  capital  cost  out  of  earnings  to  the 
extent  of  $45,873,984.  In  1904  their  net  earnings 
in  excess  of  operating  expenses  amounted  to  $12,- 
836,255,  while  212  of  them  paid  in  that  year  the 
sum  of  $4,706,850  into  the  city  treasuries  for  the 
relief  of  taxation,  or  otherwise. 

Only  six  of  the  enterprises  making  returns  to 
the  Board  of  Trade  failed  to  meet  all  the  charges 
imposed  upon  them,  and  their  average  deficits  were 
but  $7,314.  No  one  contends  that  the  gas  under- 
takings have  not  proven  a  financial  success.  Criti- 
cism has  now  shifted  to  other  grounds.  The  objec- 
tions now  raised  to  municipal  trading  are  that  it  is 
an  unfair  appropriation  of  fields  that  should  be 


THE  GAS  SUPPLY 


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108  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

left  to  private  profit,  the  fear  of  political  activity 
by  city  employees,  or  the  general  incompetence  of 
City  Councils  to  deal  with  purely  business  enter- 
prises. 

How  very  successful  the  large  cities  have  been 
appears  from  the  table  of  comparison  on  page  107 
between  municipal  and  private  plants.  All  of  the 
plants  have  been  in  operation  for  many  years,  and 
the  cities  are  of  comparable  sizes. 

From  this  table  it  appears  that  the  candle-power 
is  about  the  same  in  each  city,  as  is  also  the  per- 
centage of  consumers  to  the  population;  but  here 
the  similarity  ends.  For  the  three  public  com- 
panies have  added  the  sum  of  $12,342,164  to  the 
common  property  of  the  community.  The  private 
companies  contributed  nothing.  During  the  year 
1903  the  public  undertakings  reduced  their  indebt- 
edness in  the  sum  of  $614,663,  in  addition  to  con- 
tributing $557,341  to  the  relief  of  the  local  rates. 
The  private  companies  made  no  such  payment  to 
the  cities.  The  price  of  gas  to  consumers  is  approxi- 
mately the  same  in  the  public  and  the  private  com- 
panies, although  the  private  company  operating  in 
the  city  of  Sheffield  sold  gas  at  from  36  to  45  cents 
a  thousand  cubic  feet,  which,  with  the  exception  of 
one  town,  is  the  cheapest  in  the  United  Kingdom. 

While  the  same  social  advantages  cannot  be 
shown  to  have  followed  the  public  ownership  of  the 
gas  supply  that  were  incident    to  the   municipal 


THE  GAS  SUPPLY  109 

tramway  undertakings,  still  the  Town  Councils 
have  done  many  things  to  increase  the  usefulness 
of  the  service.  In  many  cities  free  fixtures  are  in- 
stalled. Then  they  are  kept  in  order.  Gas  stoves 
are  widely  introduced  on  a  small  rental,  or  free 
of  charge.  Prepayment  penny-in-the-slot  meters 
are  furnished  the  very  poor  in  the  tenement  dis- 
tricts, where  the  people  are  unable  to  save  suffi- 
cient money  to  meet  the  quarterly  or  annual  pay- 
ments. 

The  experience  of  the  towns  in  reducing  the  price 
of  gas  is  very  instructive.  It  has  almost  always 
resulted  in  such  an  increase  in  use  as  to  leave  the 
earnings  of  the  enterprise  unimpaired.  Since  1886 
Glasgow  has  reduced  the  price  from  79  cents  a  thou- 
sand to  61  cents.  Later  the  price  was  cut  to  51 
cents.  While  some  diminution  of  receipts  followed 
upon  the  reduction,  the  increase  in  use  was  so  sub- 
stantial that  any  loss  in  earnings  was  soon  over- 
come. 

Taken  as  a  whole,  the  municipalisation  of  the  gas 
supply  has  resulted  in  very  substantial  reduction 
in  the  price  of  gas  to  consumers,  who  have  been 
saved  millions  of  dollars  each  year  over  the  prices 
charged  by  the  private  companies;  it  has  proved 
very  profitable  to  the  communities,  both  in  the  re- 
lief of  taxation,  as  well  as  in  the  earnings  applied 
to  the  retirement  of  the  indebtedness.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  the  achievements  of  the  public 


110  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

plants  have  served  as  a  restraining  influence  upon 
the  private  undertakings,  and  led  them  to  serve  the 
people  with  much  more  consideration  than  they 
would  have  done  had  they  not  been  confronted  with 
the  menace  of  public  ownership.  Further  than  this, 
the  use  of  gas  by  all  classes  has  been  stimulated, 
and  the  percentage  of  consumers  to  the  population 
has  been  materially  increased.  In  some  towns  the 
undertaking  has  been  made  use  of  to  light  the 
streets  and  courts  without  cost  to  the  community, 
and  to  the  great  improvement  of  the  morals  of  the 
city.  Through  ownership,  too,  the  administrative 
work  of  the  Town  Council  has  been  co-ordinated 
and  simplified,  and  the  constant  controversy  with 
private  interests  brought  to  an  end. 


CHxVPTER  IX 

THE  ELECTRICITY  SUPPLY 

It  was  not  until  late  in  the  nineties,  long  after 
the  very  general  introduction  of  electric  light  and 
power  in  America  and  Germany,  that  its  use  became 
common  in  Great  Britain.  Critics  of  municipal 
ownership  have  found  in  the  backwardness  of  the 
industry  a  conclusive  reason  for  condemning  state 
interference.1  It  is  undoubtedly  true  that  the  atti- 
tude of  Parliament,  as  well  as  the  jealous  fear  of 
the  local  authorities,  operated  as  a  check  on  the 
rapid  development  of  the  electricity  business  in  the 
United  Kingdom.  For  Parliament  was  very  cau- 
tious in  the  grant  of  powers  to  the  franchise  corpo- 
rations, while  the  Town  Councils  interposed  a  veto 
wherever  they  anticipated  taking  up  the  undertak- 
ing themselves. 

In  electricity,  as  in  all  other  franchise  undertak- 
ings, the  grants  are  made  by  Parliament  rather 
than  by  the  towns  themselves.  Application  for  per- 
mission to  operate  in  a  local  territory  is  first  made 
to  the  Local  Government  Board.  Before  any  grant 
is  made,  the  Councils  are  permitted  to  be  heard, 

'See  Municipal  Ownership  in  Great  Britain,  Hugo  Meyer, 
pp.  241-266. 

Ill 


112  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

and  if  they  interpose  no  veto,  the  application  is  re- 
ferred to  Parliament,  and  a  franchise  is  usually 
granted.  But  the  Board  of  Trade  rarely  overrides 
the  provisional  veto  of  the  Councils.  And  the  local 
authorities  have  been  generally  unwilling  to  give 
their  assent  to  the  making  of  any  grant  to  the  pri- 
vate companies. 

Those  who  measure  a  nation  solely  by  the  mag- 
nitude of  its  export  trade,  and  see  in  government 
only  an  agency  for  the  creation  of  special  privi- 
leges, find  in  the  slow  development  of  the  electricity 
business  of  Great  Britain  only  a  loss.  But  there 
is  another  side  to  the  question.  While  capital  has 
suffered  some  loss,  the  people  have  enjoyed  very 
substantial  gains.  They  have  been  saved  the  ex- 
perimental costs  of  the  early  days  of  the  industry, 
a  cost  which  the  American  people  are  still  carrying 
in  some  form  or  other.  In  addition  to  this,  by  the 
time  the  industry  had  reached  a  stage  of  perfection 
the  towns  were  ready  to  enter  upon  it  themselves. 
They  were  able  to  do  this  with  the  experience  of 
Germany  and  America  before  them.  And  in  most 
instances  they  erected  their  plants  in  anticipation 
of  the  future  growth  of  the  industry. 

In  the  early  days,  Parliament  limited  the  life  of 
the  franchises  for  electricity  undertakings  to  twen- 
ty-two years.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the  Town 
Councils  were  empowered  to  purchase  them  on  the 
value  of  the  physical  property.    Later,  the  duration 


THE  ELECTRICITY  SUPPLY  113 

of  the  franchises  was  extended  to  forty-two  years. 
In  the  meantime  the  private  companies  were  subject 
to  supervision  by  the  Board  of  Trade,  or,  upon  au- 
thority being  secured  from  Parliament,  the  cities 
could  purchase  them.  In  this  event  the  valuation 
included  the  value  of  the  unexpired  grants,  meas- 
ured by  the  net  earnings  of  the  company.  In  those 
cases  where  cities  purchased  they  paid  hand- 
somely for  the  franchise  value  of  the  properties.  In 
1898  the  city  of  Leeds  bought  out  a  private  company 
for  $1,803,428  whose  physical  property  was  esti- 
mated to  be  worth  but  $1,058,074.  Sheffield  paid 
more  than  twice  the  physical  value  of  the  plant  pur- 
chased by  it.  Birmingham  paid  $2,013,930  for  a 
property  worth  but  $1,065,764.  But  the  Borough 
of  St.  Marylebone  was  the  worst  sufferer  from  the 
method  of  appraisal  fixed  by  Parliameint.  The 
Council  was  dissatisfied  with  the  private  company, 
and  paid  $6,250,000,  in  addition  to  five  hundred 
thousand  dollars  more  in  arbitration  charges,  for  a 
plant  whose  value  was  considerably  less  than  one- 
half  that  sum. 

It  was  the  fear  of  private  franchises,  and  the  ne- 
cessity of  buying  back  at  excessive  prices  something 
which  had  been  given  away  for  nothing,  that  stimu- 
lated municipal  ownership  in  this  field.  For  the 
Town  Councils  had  burdened  themselves  with  heavy 
costs  in  the  gas  and  water  undertakings,  and  at 
that  time  were  issuing  bonds  far  in  excess  of  the 


114  THE  BKITISH  CITX 

value  of  the  street  railway  undertakings  that  they 
were  taking  over.  In  order  to  prevent  the  private 
companies  from  securing  electricity  powers  from 
the  Board  of  Trade  they  asked  for  power  to  operate 
plants  themselves.  But  in  order  to  hold  the  privi- 
lege it  was  necessary  to  build  in  from  two  to  three 
years,  otherwise  the  franchise  would  be  given  to 
private  promoters.  In  addition  to  this,  the  towns 
were  entering  upon  the  purchase  of  the  tramway 
systems,  and  saw  in  the  lighting  industry  a  means 
of  making  a  very  great  saving  in  the  original  cost 
of  the  plants  as  well  as  in  the  operating  expenses. 
For  the  load  upon  the  tramway  department  is  a 
day  load,  while  that  of  the  lighting  department  is 
a  night  load.  By  the  union  of  the  two  undertakings 
very  great  economy  could  be  effected  in  the  cost, 
for  the  great  majority  of  the  towns  operate  the  two 
enterprises  together.  All  of  these  causes  co-operated 
to  stimulate  municipal  ownership  in  this  field. 

Thus,  while  the  development  of  electric  light  and 
power  was  delayed  in  Great  Britain,  the  public  has 
been  the  gainer  by  reason  of  the  fact.  Not  only 
has  the  country  been  saved  the  costly  experimenta- 
tion that  America  and  Germany  are  even  now  pay- 
ing for,  but  by  the  time  the  industry  was  an  ac- 
cepted success  the  cities  were  convinced  that  it  was 
an  undertaking  that  should  not  be  left  in  private 
hands. 

Since  1895  the  industry  has  developed  very  rap- 


THE  ELECTRICITY  SUPPLY  115 

idly,  and  the  plants  of  the  municipalities  compare 
in  magnitude,  as  well  as  in  the  perfection  of  their 
development,  with  any  in  the  world.  For  the  Town 
Councils  sent  expert  commissions  to  other  countries 
to  make  investigations  as  to  the  most  approved 
plans,  and  employed  the  highest  sort  of  skill  in 
making  their  installations. 

During  the  decade  following  1895  the  develop- 
ment of  municipal  ownership  was  very  rapid.  By 
1905  the  number  of  public  plants  was  334,  with  a 
capital  investment  of  $155,728,000.  At  the  same 
time,  the  number  of  private  plants  was  174,  with 
a  total  capital  of  $133,828,750.  In  the  metropolis 
of  London  there  are  fourteen  public  plants  and  an 
equal  number  of  private  ones.  The  public  under- 
takings in  London  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Borough 
Councils,  and  do  not  compete  with  the  private  en- 
terprises. For  Parliament  looks  upon  this  industry 
as  a  natural  monopoly,  and  rarely  permits  of  com- 
petition. The  public  and  the  private  undertakings 
supply  different  areas.1 

The  only  protection  enjoyed  by  the  cities  from 
the  private  companies  is  that  afforded  by  the  Board 
of  Trade,  which  has  power  to  investigate  local  con- 
ditions and  compel  a  private  company  to  improve 
its  service  or  to  reduce  its  rates.    That  this  security 

'How  rapidly  the  municipalities  are  appropriating  this  field 
is  seen  by  the  fact  that  the  number  of  provisional  orders 
granted  the  local  authorities  is  now  483,  against  324  to  com- 
panies. 


116  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

is  not  deemed  sufficient  by  the  local  authorities  is 
evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  public  plants  have 
almost  superseded  the  private  ones  in  the  cities  of 
any  size. 

A  very  large  percentage  of  the  municipal  plants 
have  been  opened  during  the  past  five  years.  And 
the  very  great  activity  of  the  towns  in  this  field  has 
focussed  the  opposition  to  municipal  trading  upon 
the  electricity  undertakings.  The  criticisms  are 
mostly  of  a  financial  sort,  going  to  show  that  the 
towns  have  not  made  a  business  success  of  the  ven- 
tures. A  much  better  appearing  case  can  be  made 
against  the  Town  Councils  in  this  field  than  in  any 
other.  For  the  towns  have  made  their  investment 
in  anticipation  of  future  needs.  They  have,  in 
many  instances,  erected  large  generating  stations, 
in  order  to  be  relieved  of  the  necessity  of  throwing 
away  their  investment  in  a  few  years'  time.  More- 
over, the  use  of  electricity  is  of  slow  development. 
It  takes  years  to  introduce  it  into  common  use, 
either  for  light  or  power,  especially  against  the  com- 
petition of  such  cheap  gas  as  the  British  cities  en- 
joy. The  opponents  of  municipal  ownership  have 
made  no  allowance  for  this  fact,  but  have  pointed  to 
the  fact  that  the  cities  have  not  been  able  to  meet 
all  of  the  operating  expenses,  together  with  the 
proper  depreciation  allowance  and  the  sinking  fund 
charges  imposed  by  Parliament  upon  the  undertak- 
ings.   An  examination  of  the  Electrical  Times  for 


THE  ELECTRICITY  SUPPLY  117 

May,  1905,  shows  that  at  that  time  the  number  of 
municipal  undertakings  making  a  profit  was  115, 
the  surplus  for  the  year  being  $2,121,794.  At  the 
same  time  there  were  67  public  plants  that  showed 
a  loss  which  amounted  in  the  aggregate  to  but  $338,- 
124,  or  an  average  of  but  $5046  per  plant.  But  of 
those  showing  a  loss  forty-two  had  only  completed 
the  third  year  of  their  working.  Year  by  year  the 
number  of  plants  showing  a  deficit  diminishes,  and 
when  it  is  considered  that  a  number  of  towns  have 
entered  upon  municipalisation  for  the  sake  of  the 
service  rendered,  and  are  willing  to  pay  for  the  cost 
of  it  all  because  of  the  advantages  which  they  enjoy, 
the  showing  of  returns  is  a  rather  remarkable  one. 
From  now  on  the  public  plants  may  be  expected 
to  show  increasing  efficiency  and  a  great  increase 
in  earning  power.  Cities  like  Glasgow,  Manchester, 
and  Liverpool,  which  have  installed  large  gener- 
ating stations,  and  which  have  been  busy  bringing 
the  service  to  the  people,  are  already  earning  large 
sums,  which  are  being  used  for  depreciation,  debt 
repayment,  or  the  reduction  of  charges  to  the  con- 
sumers. The  rates  charged  by  the  public  plants 
differ  widely.  Taking  the  United  Kingdom  as  a 
whole,  they  average  about  eight  cents  per  kilowatt 
hour  for  private  lighting,  and  from  two  and  a  half 
to  four  cents  for  power.  Very  many  of  the  plants 
are  identified  with  the  tramway  enterprises.  It  has 
been  found  to  be  economical  to  install  a  single  sta- 


118  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

tion  of  ample  capacity,  and  operate  both  the  light- 
ing and  the  street  railways  from  the  same  plant. 

The  Glasgow  plant  is  one  of  the  largest  and  most 
successful  in  the  Kingdom.  It  has  over  12,000  con- 
sumers and  a  value  of  over  six  million  dollars.  Of 
a  total  income  of  f  906,997  in  1905,  the  gross  profits 
in  excess  of  operating  costs  were  $543,952.  This 
was  devoted  to  depreciation,  to  the  payment  of  in- 
terest on  the  debt  of  the  plant,  to  the  retirement  of 
the  indebtedness,  and  the  creation  of  a  reserve  fund 
as  a  protection  against  any  unusual  emergency.  The 
average  charge  for  private  lighting  was  six  cents 
kilowatt  hour  and  2.55  cents  for  power. 


CHAPTER  X 
THE  GREATEST  GAIN  OF  ALL 

In  the  final  analysis  one's  attitude  toward  munic- 
ipal ownership  is  but  a  reflection  of  one's  attitude 
toward  government.  What  are  the  proper  func- 
tions of  the  city?  What  should  it  do  and  where 
should  its  activities  end?  What  ideals  should  ani- 
mate society  in  relation  to  itself?  Over  these  ques- 
tions there  is  room  for  honest  difference  of  opin- 
ion. The  ablest  of  the  recent  protests  against  mu- 
nicipal ownership  lays  down  the  proposition  as  fun- 
damental that:  "The  primary  duty  of  a  local  gov- 
ernment is  to  govern  and  not  to  trade,  and  to  this 
proposition  there  should  be  no  exception  what- 
ever."1 

This  is  the  attitude  of  the  British  franchise  in- 
terests, which  are  organised  for  the  purpose  of  op- 
posing municipal  trading  upon  the  ground  that  it 
interferes  with  the  free  play  of  individual  initia- 
tive. The  indictment  against  the  policy  of  the 
Town  Councils  is  that  trading  "must  of  necessity 
lead  to  stupenduous  financial  liabilities,  add  to  the 
burden  of  the  rates,  weaken  municipal  credit,  bring 

irThe  Dangers  of  Municipal  Ownership,  by  Robert  P.  Porter, 
page  49. 

119 


120  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

about  inequality  of  taxation,  interfere  with  the 
natural  laws  of  trade,  check  industrial  and  scien- 
tific progress,  stop  invention,  discourage  individ- 
ual effort,  destroy  foreign  trade,  establish  an  army 
of  officials,  breed  corruption,  create  an  aristocracy 
of  labour,  demoralise  the  voter,  and  ultimately 
make  socialistic  communities  of  towns  and  cities."1 
As  yet  there  are  no  signs  that  any  of  these  cal- 
amities are  imminent,  unless  the  increased  indebt- 
edness of  the  towns  is  of  itself  a  calamity.  But 
the  indebtedness  for  trading  is  more  than  offset  by 
the  assets,  which  the  cities  have  acquired,  for  the 
trading  enterprises  have  already  repaid  nearly  one 
hundred  million  dollars  on  their  undertakings. 
The  taxpayers  have  not  been  burdened.  Quite  the 
reverse.  The  reports  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  which 
up  to  1906  were  in  the  hands  of  the  Conservative 
party,  not  to  speak  of  those  of  the  Parliamentary 
committees  themselves,  show  conclusively  that  the 
reproductive  undertakings  aid  the  rates  to  the  ex- 
tent of  millions  of  dollars  a  year.  At  the  same 
time  the  rates  of  fare  upon  the  tramways  and  the 
charges  for  gas  are  less  than  one-half  the  average 
charges  in  this  country.  The  towns  seem  as  efficient 
and  as  willing  to  adopt  new  devices  and  to  recog- 
nise talent  as  the  private  companies  themselves. 
There  has  come,  it  is  true,  an  army  of  officials,  but 
so  far  as  they  are  concerned,  they  would  have  to 
'/dew,  page  27. 


GKEATEST  GAIN  OF  ALL  121 

be  employed  by  someone,  and  when  the  opportunity 
offers  they  seem  to  prefer  the  city  to  the  private 
corporation.  As  for  corruption,  it  seems  to  be 
absent  from  the  British  city.  This  can  hardly  be 
said  of  the  political  activities  of  the  franchise  cor- 
porations of  America,  into  whose  hands  the  friends 
of  individual  enterprise  would  have  us  commit 
ourselves.  As  to  an  aristocracy  of  labor,  this  is 
hardly  a  menacing  thing  to  a  nation  in  which  one 
million  of  its  people  are  said  to  be  employed  by  the 
cities.  An  aristocracy  which  involves  an  improved 
standard  of  living  for  one-eighth  of  the  population 
is  rather  more  to  be  desired  than  an  aristocracy 
reared  upon  franchise  grants,  which  in  America 
is  limited  to  the  merest  handful  of  persons. 

Is  the  end  of  government  a  large  foreign  trade, 
industrial  progress  and  invention,  even  a  low  tax 
rate  and  the  fullest  opportunity  for  the  free  play 
of  initiative?  For  these  are  the  ideals  of  business. 
Is  it  not  just  such  ideals  as  these  that  explain  the 
condition  of  modern  society,  a  condition  of  which 
Thomas  II.  Huxley  has  said :  "I  do  not  hesitate  to 
express  the  opinion,  that,  if  there  is  no  hope  of  a 
large  improvement  of  the  condition  of  the  greater 
part  of  the  human  family ;  if  it  is  true  that  the  in- 
crease of  knowledge,  the  winning  of  a  greater  do- 
minion over  nature  which  is  its  consequence  and 
the  wealth  which  follows  on  that  dominion,  are  to 
make  no  difference  in  the  extent  and  the  intensity 


122  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

of  want,  with  its  concomitant  physical  and  moral 
degradation,  among  the  masses  of  the  people,  I 
should  hail  the  advent  of  some  kindly  comet,  which 
would  sweep  the  whole  affair  away,  as  a  desirable 
consummation.  What  profits  it  to  the  human 
Prometheus  that  he  has  stolen  the  fire  of  heaven  to 
be  his  servant,  and  that  the  spirits  of  the  earth  and 
of  the  air  obey  him,  if  the  vulture  of  pauperism  is 
eternally  to  tear  his  very  vitals  and  keep  him  on 
the  brink  of  destruction?"1 

A  community  which  is  content  to  merely  "gov- 
ern," which  subordinates  all  other  considerations 
to  those  of  property  and  the  free  play  of  individual 
initiative,  is  not  greatly  concerned  over  any  such 
lament.  But  is  there  not  another  ideal,  an  ideal 
that  is  susceptible  of  expression  as  well  as  execu- 
tion, that  draws  the  line  between  individualism 
and  socialism?  The  question,  "What  are  the  func- 
tions of  government?"  says  Huxley,  is  translated 
into  another — namely,  "What  ought  we  men,  in 
our  corporate  capacity,  to  do,  not  only  in  the  way 
of  restraining  that  free  individuality  which  is  in- 
consistent with  the  existence  of  society,  but  in  en- 
couraging that  free  individuality  which  is  essential 
to  the  evolution  of  the  social  organisation?  The 
formula  which  truly  defines  the  function  of  govern- 
ment must  contain  the  solution  of  both  the  prob- 

1Essay  on  Government,  In  Methods  and  Results.  Essays, 
page  423. 


GEEATEST  GAIN  OF  ALL  123 

lems  involved,  and  not  merely  one  of  them."  Locke 
has  furnished  us  with  such  a  formula,  in  the  no- 
blest, and  at  the  same  time  briefest,  statement  of 
the  purpose  of  government  known  to  me :  "The  end 
of  government  is  the  good  of  mankind."1  It  is  by 
this  formula  that  municipal  ownership  should  be 
measured. 

Municipal  ownership  is  a  moral,  not  a  financial 
question.  Its  essential  morality  springs  from  the 
importance  of  certain  services  to  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity. To  justify  municipal  ownership  through 
its  effect  upon  the  purse  is  like  justifying  human 
life  itself  through  a  demonstration  that  it  costs  less 
money  to  rear  a  child  than  it  afterward  produces 
as  a  man.  Further  than  this,  the  great  franchise 
corporations  which  occupy  the  streets  are,  of  neces- 
sity, monopolies.  They  can  only  maintain  the  privi- 
leges which  they  enjoy  through  constant  interfer- 
ence with  the  political  life  of  the  community;  and 
a  people  can  only  escape  from  this  merger  of  mon- 
opoly and  politics  through  municipal  ownership. 
Regulation,  far  from  diminishing,  only  increases 
the  necessity  of  it.  Great  Britain  demonstrated 
that  fact,  as  our  own  cities  have  done  in  their  water 
and  electric  lighting  enterprises.  For  when  a  city 
owns  an  undertaking,  all  classes  can  unite  in  secur- 
ing good  administration.    But  when  it  is  in  private 

'Essay  on  Administrative  Nihilism,  In  Methods  and  Results, 
ays,  page  277. 


124  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

hands  there  is  a  constant  conflict  between  those  who 
own  it  and  those  who  do  not,  over  terms,  rates,  ser- 
vice, and  everything  connected  with  its  administra- 
tion. 

This  is  the  ceaseless  struggle  that  is  going  on  in 
every  large  American  community.  A  city  cannot 
be  half  privileged  and  half  free,  any  more  than  a 
nation  can  be  half  slave  and  half  free.  Either  the 
one  interest  or  the  other  must  rule.  A  city  can 
only  rule  itself  for  the  good  of  all  through  the 
ownership  of  the  things  that  lie  at  the  very  heart 
of  the  community's  well-being. 

We  can  see  this  conflict  of  interest  in  almost 
every  large  American  city.  The  unorganised  com- 
mon people  are  occupied  in  fighting  back  the  ag- 
gressions of  the  bankers  and  brokers,  the  bench 
and  the  bar,  the  business  men  and  the  press,  all 
united  in  an  attempt  to  control  the  city  and  secure 
for  themselves  and  their  friends  franchises  of  great 
value. 

The  cities  of  Great  Britain  have  united  all 
classes  with  the  city.  They  are  now  working  for  the 
city,  not  making  war  upon  it.  They  are  interested 
in  good  government,  not  plotting  for  corrupt  gov- 
ernment. The  internecine  struggle  of  class  with 
class  which  cleaves  every  American  city  in  twain 
is  absent  from  the  British  city.  All  classes  are  free 
to  insist  upon  good  government.  In  the  American 
city  the  powerful  interests  are  united  in  a  struggle 


GREATEST  GAIN  OF  ALL  125 

for  a  corrupt  government  that  will  enrich,  them 
with  franchises.  This  is  why  municipal  ownership 
is  a  moral  question.  The  stakes  involved  are  politi- 
cal freedom. 

Some  American  critics  do  not  like  the  British 
tramways.  But  neither  do  they  like  the  British 
tailors,  hotels,  railways,  or  methods  of  doing  busi- 
ness. But  compare  the  attitude  of  the  British  city 
to  its  people  with  that  of  an  American  company 
to  its  patrons.  Stand  upon  the  street  corner  of 
any  of  our  cities,  morning  or  evening.  Watch  the 
struggling  mass  of  humanity  righting  like  animals 
for  an  opportunity  to  stand  upon  the  platform  or 
the  running-board  of  a  street  car.  Worn-out  shop 
girls  are  crushed  or  trampled  upon.  Women  who 
have  already  spent  from  ten  to  twelve  hours  in  the 
foetid  atmosphere  of  a  sweat  shop  or  factory  are 
hustled  about  with  the  grossest  indignity.  Cars  are 
dirty  or  filled  with  disease  germs.  Equipment,  long 
worn  out,  is  noisy  and  dangerous.  The  lust  for  divi- 
dends is  at  war  with  the  very  life  of  the  city. 

Ordinances  of  the  councils,  requiring  improved 
service,  life-saving  fenders,  or  transfers,  are  calmly 
ignored,  or  carried  into  the  courts,  there  to  be  de- 
layed in  enforcement  or  ultimately  found  to  be  in 
violation  of  some  vested  right  fraudulently  acquired 
or  surreptitiously  inserted  into  an  ordinance.  Gas 
companies  filch  the  pockets  of  the  people  by  dis- 
honest practices,  by  excessive  charges,  or  false  me- 


126  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

ters.  They  insolently  repudiate  any  attempt  to 
reduce  rates.  They  water  their  gas  in  order  that 
they  may  still  further  water  their  stock.  And  in 
order  to  continue  their  oppression  of  the  people  the 
franchise  companies  maintain  a  continuous  lobby 
in  the  council  chamber  and  in  the  legislative  halls 
of  every  State  in  the  Union.  They  purchase  entire 
parties  by  campaign  contributions.  In  return  for 
the  contributions  the  parties  nominate  mayors, 
councilmen,  tax  assessors,  even  the  judges  upon  the 
bench,  in  the  interest  of  the  corporations.  The 
press  which  they  control  does  not  hesitate  to  de- 
stroy the  character  or  malign  the  motives  of  any 
man  who  dares  to  question  their  privileges.  Mem- 
bers of  the  bar  who  lend  their  aid  to  the  city  are 
made  to  pay  the  price  in  business  if  not  in  social 
ostracism.  Wholesale  and  retail  business  men  are 
subjected  to  as  remorseless  a  boycott  as  was  ever 
devised  by  a  labour  union.  Further  than  this,  all 
classes  whose  interest  or  fear  can  be  appealed  to 
are  exiled  from  any  participation  in  the  political 
life  of  the  city.  It  is  this  that  makes  municipal 
ownership  a  moral  question.  This  is  no  overdrawn 
picture.  It  is  true  to  the  life  of  Chicago,  Cleve- 
land, Toledo,  Philadelphia;  true  to  conditions  in 
any  city  where  an  attempt  has  been  made  by  the 
sovereign  municipality  to  control  the  corporations 
which  the  state  has  endowed  with  splendid  gifts 
and  privileges. 


GREATEST  GAIN  OF  ALL  127 

No  city  in  the  Union  would  dare  to  give  to  its 
people  such  service  as  they  are  compelled  to  accept 
from  the  private  companies.  Any  administration 
would  be  driven  from  power  by  the  all  but  unani- 
mous voice  of  the  people,  which  ignored  the  comfort 
and  lives  of  the  public  as  do  the  street  railways,  the 
gas,  water,  and  electric  lighting  companies.  Many 
men  admit  all  this,  but  fear  the  organisation  of 
the  employees  for  the  control  of  the  city.  But  were 
all  the  employes  of  the  city  united  they  could  be 
driven  from  power  by  an  aroused  public  sentiment. 
For  then  the  press  and  every  agency  of  public  opin- 
ion would  be  free  to  insist  upon  good  administra- 
tion. At  most,  the  employees  of  a  city  would  not 
exceed  ten  per  cent,  of  the  voters,  and  any  attempt 
on  their  part  to  control  the  politics  of  the  commu- 
nity in  their  own  interest  would  be  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. Party  lines  would  vanish  in  a  city  that  was 
free  from  these  interests,  for  anyone  familiar  with 
the  average  American  city  is  aware  that  the  fran- 
chise companies  are  most  largely  responsible  for 
their  persistence. 

Compare  this  picture  of  the  American  city  with 
that  of  Manchester,  Liverpool,  Glasgow,  Leeds, 
Sheffield,  or  any  other  large  city  in  Great  Britain. 
The  doings  of  the  Town  Council  are  of  absorbing 
interest  to  every  member  of  the  community.  There 
is  no  hatred,  no  warfare  of  interest,  no  class  stand- 
ing apart  from  the  city,  struggling  to  control  its 


128  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

administration  and  all  of  the  agencies  for  the 
moulding  of  public  opinion.  In  the  clubs,  on  the 
streets,  in  the  restaurants,  people  talk  about  the 
city  and  the  proceedings  of  the  Council.  The  city 
is  the  most  frequent  topic  of  conversation.  The 
earnings  of  the  different  departments,  the  achieve- 
ments of  committees  and  managers  are  approved  or 
criticised.  The  city  is  free,  privilege  is  absent. 
There  are  none  to  whom  bad  government  is  desir- 
able. The  city  and  its  enterprises  are  managed 
for  the  people.  Fares  are  low,  and  in  time  will  be 
very  much  lower.  For  the  English  city  is  very  cau- 
tious, and  is  rapidly  extinguishing  its  indebtedness 
out  of  earnings.  In  the  rush  hours  of  morning  and 
evening  cars  are  in  abundance.  There  is  no  crush- 
ing of  women  in  the  struggle  for  standing  room.  A 
seat  is  supplied  to  nearly  everyone.  For  the  cities 
limit  the  standing  room  to  from  four  to  six.  There 
are  no  epidemics  from  pneumonia  nor  other  diseases 
caused  by  dirty  or  unheated  cars.  The  cars  are 
cleaned  and  disinfected  in  a  most  careful  way. 
Schedules  are  arranged  to  meet  the  pressure  of  busi- 
ness. Conductors  are  courteous  to  everyone,  for 
the  public  is  their  employer.  They  are  paid  a  living 
wage,  and  their  positions  are  secure  so  long  as  they 
merit  them. 

Compare,  too,  the  fatalities  of  private  and  public 
operation.  In  the  British  cities  no  means  are  over- 
looked for  the  minimising  of  danger.     Human  life 


GKEATEST  GAIN  OF  ALL  129 

is  cheaper  than  fenders  in  America.  Human  life 
is  sacred  in  the  British  city.  The  English  cities  vie 
with  one  another  in  their  efforts  to  serve  the  people, 
to  secure  efficient  management,  to  promote  the  com- 
fort and  convenience  of  the  public.  The  American 
street  railways  vie  with  one  another  to  inflate  their 
securities,  to  rob  the  public  through  excessive  fares 
and  charges.  The  British  city  endears  its  industries 
to  the  people  through  the  service  which  it  renders. 
The  American  franchise  corporation  cares  not  for 
public  approval  so  long  as  it  is  entrenched  behind 
a  franchise  made  sacred  by  the  courts. 

The  Town  Councils  manifest  the  same  solicitude 
in  the  administration  of  their  other  enterprises. 
Gas  is  sold  at  from  forty  to  sixty  cents  a  thousand 
cubic  feet.  The  city  encourages  its  use  in  every  pos- 
sible way.  It  installs  fixtures.  It  examines  them 
when  installed.  It  helps  the  consumer  to  economise. 
It  reads  its  meters  honestly.  Many  cities  place 
heating  and  cooking  appliances  in  the  houses  free 
of  charge  or  on  a  small  rental.  Penny-in-the-slot 
devices  are  placed  in  the  tenements  in  order  that 
the  very  poorest  may  enjoy  some  of  the  comforts  of 
life  in  the  hours  that  are  not  devoted  to  toil.  In 
consequence,  nearly  everyone  uses  gas.  This  is  one 
of  the  best  tests  of  municipal  ownership.  In  Glas- 
gow and  Manchester,  one  person  out  of  every  five 
is  a  user  of  gas,  which  is  the  equivalent  of  almost 
one  connection  to  every  family. 


130  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

The  British  city  is  fraternal  in  its  attitude  to- 
ward the  people.  The  American  city  invites  fra- 
tricidal war  by  offering  great  treasures  for  the 
strong  and  the  unscrupulous  to  struggle  for.  That 
is  why  municipal  ownership  is  a  moral  question, 
just  as  much  a  moral  question  as  the  turning  over 
of  the  police  departments  of  our  cities  to  a  Pinker- 
ton  agency,  of  leaving  the  health  administration  to 
a  private  company,  of  leasing  our  public  schools  to 
those  who  would  make  them  pay  dividends. 

Corruption,  inflated  securities,  arrogance,  oppres- 
sive rates  and  charges,  civil  strife,  are  the  prices  we 
pay  for  the  private  ownership  of  a  public  service. 
This  is  the  cost  of  individualism,  where  individual- 
ism has  no  place.  An  affectionate  regard  for  the 
city,  the  absence  of  bulging  dividends,  the  best  pos- 
sible service,  and  a  fraternal  sense  between  all 
classes  of  the  community,  are  the  returns  of  the 
British  city  from  the  public  ownership  of  a  public 
service.  These  returns  are  not  susceptible  of  sta- 
tistical demonstration.  They  do  not  appear  in  the 
city  budget.  They  are  the  higher  returns  not  men- 
tioned in  the  annual  balance  sheet.  But  they  are 
more  eloquent  than  any  advantage  to  the  rate-payer. 
They  are  the  things  that  make  possible  a  decent 
city  life.  They  are  the  only  tests  we  should  con- 
sider in  weighing  the  gains  and  losses  of  municipal 
ownership. 

No  programme  of  city  building  is  possible  until 


GREATEST  GAIN  OF  ALL  131 

the  city  controls  the  great  transportation,  lighting, 
heat,  and  water  utilities.  They  can  no  more  be  left 
with  safety  in  private  hands  than  the  human  body 
could  entrust  its  organs  to  a  control  outside  of  it- 
self. For  the  life  of  the  community  revolves  about 
them.  They  determine  the  boundaries  of  the  city, 
how  it  will  be  housed,  how  and  where  its  life  will 
be  carried  on.  Its  health,  comfort,  and  happiness 
are  incidental  to  the  water,  light,  and  heat  supply. 
The  standard  of  living  of  the  people  is  dependent 
upon  the  land  and  the  proper  performance  of  these 
services.  A  city  which  owns  them  all  can  co-ordi- 
nate their  administration.  It  can  lay  out  its  high- 
ways as  a  whole.  The  constant  tearing  up  of  streets 
would  be  obviated.  The  electric  lighting  and  the 
traction  systems  can  be  united  under  one  control, 
as  is  done  in  many  British  cities.  Streets  and  dark 
alleys  can  be  better  lighted,  to  the  great  improve- 
ment of  the  morals  of  the  community.  The  popula- 
tion can  be  carried  far  out  into  the  country,  even, 
if  necessary,  at  a  loss  to  the  city.  Gas  and  elec- 
tricity can  be  made  to  serve  the  community  in 
countless  ways. 

When  all  of  these  enterprises  are  under  public 
control  city  building  will  be  possible.  Then  men 
will  think  of  the  city  as  a  whole.  Officials  will  be 
able  to  turn  their  attention  to  the  real  possibilities 
of  a  city,  possibilities  of  which  we  have  not  yet 
Itogun  to  dream.     To-day,  the  honest  and  capable 


132  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

official  is  devoting  his  life  to  the  protection  of  the 
community  from  the  aggressions  of  private  inter- 
ests. He  has  no  time,  and  the  public  has  no  interest, 
in  any  other  question.  Elections  are  fought  out 
over  the  franchise  question  to  the  exclusion  of  every- 
thing else. 

The  British  city  is  free  from  all  this.  It  is  free 
to  think  of  other  things,  free  to  have  ideals.  It  is 
not  because  the  British  city  has  more  constructive 
statesmanship  that  it  has  achieved  where  we  have 
failed.  The  average  Englishman  is  no  more  able  to 
administer  great  undertakings  than  we  are.  But 
the  men  of  talent  in  that  country  are  free  to  enter 
politics.  There  is  no  conflict  between  their  patriot- 
ism and  their  purse.  And  were  the  American  city 
able  to  take  over  the  franchise  corporations,  it 
would  in  a  short  time  administer  them  as  honestly 
and  as  efficiently  as  does  the  British  city.  Then 
we  should  call  to  the  city  the  talent  which  is  now 
exiled  by  interest  or  fear.  And  just  as  American 
industry  is  more  progressive,  more  efficient  than  the 
industry  of  Great  Britain,  so  American  democracy 
would  give  to  tfye  world  the  most  efficient  city  in 
Christendom.  For  nothing  is  more  mistaken  than 
the  assumption  that  the  American  is  too  engrossed 
with  business  to  enter  politics.  We  find  no  diffi- 
culty in  securing  talent  for  public  place  when  the 
way  is  open  for  its  entrance.  This  is  true  of  our 
public  schools,  it  is  true  of  our  library  boards,  it 


GKEATEST  GAIN  OF  ALL  133 

is  true  of  the  appointive  offices  of  the  Federal  Gov- 
ernment. Wherever  politics  is  free  from  the  con- 
taminating influences  of  the  big,  privileged  business 
interests  there  men  are  willing  and  eager  to  enter 
the  public  service.  And  it  is  these  interests  that 
employ  the  boss  and  the  ward  heeler ;  it  is  they  who 
supply  the  bulk  of  the  campaign  contributions;  it  is 
they  who  keep  alive  the  senseless  party  spirit. 

We  have  overlooked  the  fact  that  all  men,  from 
whatever  class  they  come,  have  within  themselves 
something  which  responds  to  the  opportunity  to 
serve  their  fellows.  It  is  the  most  universal  of  all 
forces.  It  lies  dormant  in  America  because  of  the 
conflict  of  interest  with  patriotism.  That,  and  the 
hostility  of  the  franchise  corporations,  exiles  the 
best  and  invites  the  worst  into  the  administration 
of  the  American  city. 

When  the  American  city  becomes  the  most  im- 
portant corporation  in  the  community,  when  it 
offers  an  opportunity  to  all  to  use  their  talents 
on  big  things,  without  fear  or  the  hope  of  gain,  then 
there  will  come  to  us  an  awakening  like  that  which 
followed  in  Great  Britain  in  the  wake  of  municipal 
trading.  And  honest  municipal  administration  can 
come  in  no  other  way.  So  long  as  millions  of  dol- 
lars are  placed  in  jeopardy  by  the  election  of  honest 
councilmen  or  an  idealistic  mayor,  just  so  long 
will  those  millions  be  organised  for  protection 
against  the  community.    For  wherever  we  go,  privi- 


134  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

lege  and  liberty  are  ever  at  war.  This  warfare  will 
only  cease  when  monopoly  is  exiled  from  politics. 
And  this  can  only  be  done  through  the  ownership 
by  the  community  itself  of  the  great  public  service 
corporations  which  are  now  in  private  hands. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  MUNICIPALITY  AND  LABOUR 

If  there  is  any  serious  menace  to  the  community 
from  the  employment  of  large  numbers  of  men,  the 
British  city  should  bear  witness  to  it.  For  munici- 
pal ownership  has  greatly  increased  the  number  of 
city  employees.  The  tramways,  electricity,  gas,  and 
other  undertakings,  which  have  passed  under  the 
control  of  the  Town  Councils  during  the  past  few 
years,  have  probably  given  employment  to  from  one 
to  two  hundred  thousand  men.  In  the  city  of  Glas- 
gow, the  employees  number  about  15,000,  or  ten 
per  cent,  of  the  registered  voters.  In  other  towns 
where  the  Council  has  gone  in  for  the  ownership 
of  the  franchise  corporations  the  percentage  is  prob- 
ably equally  high. 

In  addition  to  the  fact  that  the  cities  are  coming 
to  employ  an  increasing  percentage  of  the  voters, 
the  struggle  for  work  in  Great  Britain  is  very  se- 
vere, and  the  pressure  upon  those  who  have  jobs  to 
bestow  is  correspondingly  great.  Moreover,  there 
are  no  civil  service  laws  to  protect  the  public  from 
the  spoils  system.  Under  such  conditions  as  these 
the  employees  should  be  a  menace  to  the  'reedom 

135 


136  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

of  the  towns  if  there  is  any  real  danger  from  this 
source. 

There  is  little  ground  for  any  such  apprehension. 
I  have  talked  with  the  managers  of  a  score  of  de- 
partments, and  never  heard  the  suggestion  made 
that  this  was  a  serious  danger,  or  that  the  men  made 
use  of  their  power  to  control  or  influence  the  elec- 
tion of  men  who  would  be  responsive  to  their  de- 
mands. Occasional  fears  have  been  expressed  by 
officials  that  the  time  might  come  wThen  the  em- 
ployees of  the  city  might  have  to  be  disfranchised 
in  order  to  prevent  their  control  of  the  Council. 
But  instances  of  any  such  attempts  are  so  rare  as 
to  negative  such  an  apprehension.  Save  in  the 
skilled  trades,  where  the  number  of  city  employees 
is  limited,  the  men  do  not  generally  organise  into 
unions.  The  city  is  the  best  union  they  could  pos- 
sibly have.  Nor  would  the  public  tolerate  any  at- 
tempt on  the  part  of  the  employees  to  ruD  the  town 
in  their  own  interests.  Even  West  Ham  and  Bat- 
tersea,  which  are  controlled  by  the  labouring 
classes  in  the  councils,  and  about  which  so  much 
ado  has  been  made  by  the  conservative  British  press, 
have  not  ventured  to  abuse  their  powers  for  the 
advantage  of  the  employee.  In  so  far  as  these  com- 
munities have  given  expression  to  radical  ideals 
they  have  been  in  the  form  of  progressive  schemes 
for  improving  the  condition  of  all  classes  through 
model  dwellings,  libraries,  public    baths,    and   in 


MUNICIPALITY  AND  LABOUR  137 

finding  work  for  the  unemployed,  who  would  other- 
wise have  become  a  burden  to  the  rates. 

In  the  ordinary  municipality  there  are  only 
two  classes,  those  who  serve  and  those  who  are 
served.  And  the  latter  class  will  remain  in  the 
large  majority  until  something  like  socialism  is 
approached.  To-day,  the  number  of  employees 
rarely,  if  ever,  exceeds  ten  per  cent,  of  the  voters 
of  the  community,  and  of  these  the  majority  are 
rate-payers,  and  have  almost  as  much  appreciation 
of  the  impropriety  of  political  activity  as  the 
Mayor  himself.  And  despite  opinion  to  the  con- 
trary, the  percentage  of  employees  in  the  average 
American  city  who  actively  participate  in  politics 
is  not  very  high.  For  the  men  to  be  found  in  the 
City  Hall  are  animated  by  the  same  instincts  and 
moved  by  the  same  public  opinion  that  controls 
their  neighbours.  There  is  no  greater  bogey  in  poli- 
tics than  the  political  tyranny  of  the  office-holding 
class.  At  primaries  and  caucuses  they  exert  much 
influence,  but  on  election  day  they  are  far  from  for- 
midable. No  city  could  be  carried  on  if  its  office- 
holding  class  were  as  ignorant  and  inefficient  and 
as  given  over  to  bad  politics  as  the  average  critic 
assumes  them  to  be. 

The  British  city  is  still  further  protected  by  the 
fact  that  the  Councils  aim  to  be  model  employers. 
There  is  no  incentive  to  be  otherwise,  because 
there  is  no  competitive  necessity  of  paying  the  low- 


138  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

est  possible  wage.  The  Council  refuses  to  buy  its 
labour  in  the  cheapest  market,  if  by  so  doing  it  pays 
unfair  wages  or  reduces  the  pay  of  its  servants  be- 
low the  standard  of  decent  existence. 

In  its  early  days  the  London  County  Council  fixed 
a  standard  of  employment.  It  announced  that  the 
public  could  not  expect  the  private  employer  to 
abolish  the  sweatshop  if  it  tolerated  its  continuance 
in  city  work.  So  the  Council  established  a  fair 
wage  scale  and  adopted  the  Trade  Union  conditions 
in  all  departments.  It  paid  the  prevailing  rates  of 
the  unions  and  compelled  all  contractors  dealing 
with  the  Council  to  observe  the  same  rate,  under 
penalty  of  forfeiture.  By  this  means  it  raised  the 
standard  of  living  of  thousands  of  men  and  women 
and  established  a  living  wage  in  all  work  in  which 
the  city  was  a  partner.  The  Council  also  opened 
a  large  department  devoted  entirely  to  the  perform- 
ance of  municipal  work.  Whenever  contracts  are 
to  be  let  for  the  erection  of  dwellings,  engine  houses, 
fire  stations,  sewers,  or  other  public  work,  the 
Works  Department  becomes  a  bidder,  the  same  as 
any  private  builder.  If  its  tender  is  the  lowest  it 
secures  the  work ;  otherwise,  it  goes  to  outside  par- 
ties. In  addition  to  this,  the  department  has  charge 
of  all  repair  work  and  the  maintenance  of  the  prop- 
erty of  the  Council.  By  this  means  the  Council  is 
always  in  a  position  to  checkmate  any  combination 
of  bidders  and  at  the  same  time  establish  a  standard 


MUNICIPALITY  AND  LABOUR  139 

of  workmanship  by  which  private  builders  are 
measured.  The  department  is  under  the  control  of 
a  committee,  and  its  costs  sheets  are  subject  to 
merciless  scrutiny  by  the  press  and  private  inter- 
ests. It  has  now  been  a  part  of  the  Council's  policy 
for  fifteen  years.  While  it  was  a  source  of  some 
expense  during  the  early  years,  owing  largely  to  the 
vacillating  policy  with  which  it  was  supported,  it 
now  handles  contracts  and  performs  work  to  the 
extent  of  many  millions  of  dollars  a  year.  Accord- 
ing to  the  reports  of  the  Council  it  amply  justifies 
its  existence  in  the  reduced  cost  of  public  work,  in 
the  more  durable  character  of  its  construction,  as 
well  as  in  the  competitive  check  which  it  gives  on 
the  private  contractor. 

Hundreds  of  other  local  authorities  have  followed 
the  London  County  Council  in  the  policy  of  doing 
work  by  the  direct  employment  of  labour  as  well 
as  in  its  schedule  of  wages.  It  is  now  well  nigh 
universal  for  the  cities  to  do  by  direct  labour  a 
large  part  of  the  work  previously  let  out  to  con- 
tractors. Many  of  them  have  erected  splendid  work- 
shops, through  which  all  of  the  construction  work 
of  the  city  is  done.  Many  tramway  departments 
have  well  equipped  plants  for  the  erection  and  re- 
pair of  cars  and  electrical  supplies.  In  Glasgow, 
the  central  fire  station  builds  all  of  the  fire  appa- 
ratus for  the  city,  the  men  on  the  fire  force  being 
employed  because  of  their  skill  as  artisans.    Shef- 


140  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

field  has  an  electrical  manufacturing  plant,  and 
other  towns  manufacture  other  commodities  as  in- 
cidental to  the  work  of  some  department. 

Almost  always  the  city  employee  is  paid  some- 
what more  than  the  competitive  wage.  In  so  far  as 
is  possible,  the  trade  union  standard  is  adopted, 
but  where  no  union  exists  in  a  trade  the  Council 
fixes  a  living  wage,  below  which  it  will  not,  and 
below  which  anyone  dealing  with  the  city  must  not 
go.  In  addition  to  this,  the  Councils  and  the  man- 
agers of  the  several  departments  organise  relief 
funds  and  make  provision  for  sickness  and  old  a^e. 
These  insurance  schemes  are  purely  optional,  but 
inasmuch  as  the  city  assumes  a  portion  of  the  ex- 
pense, the  men  are  usually  desirous  of  membership. 
In  nearly  all  cities  the  men  are  limited  to  six  days 
a  week,  and  are  given  a  number  of  days'  holiday 
each  year  on  full  pay. 

Tramway  employees  have  been  especially  bene- 
fited by  municipalisation.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the 
wretched  condition  of  the  employees  was  one  of  the 
principal  causes  leading  to  the  taking  over  of  the 
plants.  Hours  of  labour  were  long  and  wages  were 
low.  The  men  were  compelled  to  work  from  seventy 
to  eighty  hours  a  week,  and  in  many  instances  as 
much  as  ninety  hours.  The  Councils  have  reduced 
the  hours  to  an  average  of  sixty  a  week,  with  one 
full  day  off  in  seven,  while  in  the  larger  towns  the 
week's  work  is  of  fifty-five  hours.    According  to  an 


MUNICIPALITY  AND  LABOUR  141 

estimate  of  Mr.  Albert  Baker,  former  manager  of 
the  London  County  Council  Tramways,  the  result 
of  municipalisation  has  been  to  reduce  the  hours  of 
tramway  employees  all  over  the  kingdom  by  forty- 
eight  per  cent.,  while  the  wages  have  been  increased 
by  not  less  than  forty-two  per  cent. 

The  Councils  also  provide  the  men  with  free  uni- 
forms. The  cost  to  the  London  County  Council  of 
the  betterment  of  the  tramway  employees  amounts 
to  nearly  $200,000  a  year.  In  Liverpool,  the  in- 
creased operating  expenses  are  about  the  same, 
while  the  tramway  department  of  Glasgow  is  ex- 
pending in  the  neighbourhood  of  half  a  million  dol- 
lars a  year  more  than  it  would  have  paid  under  the 
rate  of  wages  and  other  conditions  prevailing  under 
private  management. 

Many  other  considerations  are  shown  the  men, 
in  the  form  of  clubs,  recreation  rooms,  gymnasiums, 
and  means  of  improving  their  condition.  There  are 
athletic  parks  and  cricket  teams.  In  some  of  the 
towns  the  men  have  organised  bands.  The  attitude 
of  the  Councils  is  in  marked  contrast  with  that  of 
the  private  companies.  For  the  towns  seek  to  enlist 
the  co-operation  of  the  employees  in  making  the 
enterprise  as  serviceable  as  possible  to  all  of  the 
people ;  they  strive  to  awaken  a  consciousness  of  the 
co-operative  character  of  public  work  and  an  appre- 
ciation of  the  fact  that  the  public  has  dignified  their 
positions  into  those  of  public  servants.    The  men 


142  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

have  responded  to  the  changed  relationship.  They 
are  courteous  and  considerate  to  the  passengers. 
The  higher  pay  and  the  greater  attractiveness  of 
public  employment  make  them  very  jealous  of  their 
positions  and  very  careful  not  to  forfeit  them  by 
any  act  of  carelessness.  A  fraternal  relationship  is 
coming  into  existence  between  the  city  and  its  ser- 
vants, while  the  constant  friction  over  wages,  hours 
of  labour,  and  other  matters,  is  at  an  end.  The 
employees  confer  freely  with  the  managers  and  with 
the  members  of  the  Council. 

There  are  no  civil  service  laws  governing  the  em- 
ployment and  the  retention  of  men  in  the  munici- 
palities. That  is  left  to  the  manager,  as  in  any 
private  employment.  He  is  free  to  discharge  or 
employ  men  at  will.  But  inasmuch  as  there  are  no 
political  organisations  to  maintain,  the  spoils  sys- 
tem has  never  gained  entrance.  The  employees  of 
the  British  city  are  not  in  politics  as  much  as  the 
employees  of  the  franchise  corporations  in  America. 
For  anyone  familiar  with  municipal  conditions  in 
this  country  is  aware  that  one  of  the  commonest 
means  of  controlling  councilmen  is  through  the  ap- 
pointment of  their  friends  and  relatives  to  posi- 
tions. In  Great  Britain,  many  influences  combine 
to  prevent  the  organisation  of  the  office-holding 
class  for  their  own  advantage.  Public  opinion  is 
always  alert  by  reason  of  the  pecuniary  interest  of 
the  rate-payers.  There  is  but  one  issue  before  the 
people,  and  that  is  the  city  itself.     It  is  not  con- 


MUNICIPALITY  AND  LABOUR  1-13 

fused  by  the  privileged  interests  which  divide  the 
community  into  those  who  desire  good  government 
and  those  who  desire  bad  government.  Moreover, 
the  condition  of  the  employees  is  a  matter  of  con- 
stant concern  on  the  part  of  the  Council.  There 
is  no  dividend  to  be  paid  upon  watered  securities, 
and  consequently  no  pressure  to  keep  down  oper- 
ating expenses,  even  if  the  excess  earnings  must 
be  extorted  from  underpaid  labour.  Thus  far,  at 
least,  the  apprehension  occasionally  expressed  that 
the  increasing  army  of  city  employees  would  prove 
a  menace  to  the  community  has  not  been  justified. 
And,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  there  is  no  reason  for 
assuming  that  those  who  work  with  their  hands  are 
any  more  likely  to  make  use  of  their  positions  for 
personal  gain  than  any  other  class.  For  they  are 
subject  to  constant  supervision  by  the  public,  and 
all  of  the  agencies  for  the  making  of  public  opinion 
are  in  the  hands  of  the  non-official  class. 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  municipal  em- 
ployees does  awaken  an  enquiry  as  to  its  effect  upon 
the  programme  of  the  future.  Those  already  in 
the  city's  employ  will  tend  to  support  any  move- 
ment for  the  increase  of  the  activities  of  the  com- 
munity. Their  influence  will  probably  be  thrown 
on  the  side  of  every  reasonable  increase  in  the  so- 
cialisation of  the  municipality.  In  this  sense 
municipal  ownership  has  added  a  powerful  factor, 
which  will  undoubtedly  influence  the  future  indus- 
trial development  of  the  British  city. 


CHAPTER  XII 

PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  CITIES:  THE  TYEANNY 
OE  A  CLASS 

The  lust  for  monopoly,  untaxed,  and  free  to  fol- 
low its  own  desires,  is  the  controlling  motive  of 
English  as  it  is  of  American  politics.  The  House  of 
Lords,  like  the  United  States  Senate,  is  a  monopo- 
listic body.  Once  this  is  seen,  much  that  is  other- 
wise inexplicable  becomes  clear.  Herein  is  the 
struggle  of  the  cities  with  Parliament.  For  the 
cities  are  seeking  to  control  the  abuses  which  Par- 
liament is  constantly  seeking  to  protect.  The  great 
obtruding  issue  in  Great  Britain  is  monopoly 
against  liberty,  of  privilege  against  democracy;  an 
issue  with  which  we  are  perfectly  familiar  in  Amer- 
ica. In  this  contest  the  attitude  of  the  ruling  class 
is  the  attitude  of  privilege  everywhere.  It  is  the 
attitude  of  the  Roman  Senate  toward  the  landless 
freemen,  of  the  French  nobles  toward  the  third  es- 
tate, of  the  Russian  aristocracy  toward  the  peas- 
ants, and  of  the  United  States  Senate  toward  the 
people. 

The  underlying  motive  of  monopoly  is  as  old  as 
society.  It  is  the  desire  of  something  for  nothing, 
of  income  without  labour.    And  at  bottom  the  issue 

144 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  CITIES  145 

is  an  economic  one.  It  is  not  conservative  states- 
manship, but  class  selfishness,  that  explains  the 
jealousy  of  the  aristocracy  toward  the  growing 
powers  of  the  towns.  On  the  one  hand  are  the  cities, 
burdened  by  unjust  taxation,  and  aroused  by  the 
poverty  and  necessities  of  the  people.  On  the  other 
hand  are  the  members  of  Parliament,  who  make 
use  of  the  powers  entrusted  to  them  to  protect  the 
things  which  the  people  are  seeking  to  own  or  con- 
trol. This  is  especially  true  of  the  House  of  Lords. 
In  this  contest  Parliament  is  supreme.  The  cities 
are  but  pawns.  They  are  permitted  to  do  almost 
anything  that  does  not  interfere  with  the  abuses  of 
the  privileged  classes.  Aside  from  these  activities 
the  cities  are  kept  under  a  jealous  curb.  They  have 
less  home  rule  than  the  American  city  enjoys.  True, 
Great  Britain  is  free  from  ripper  legislation.  Par- 
liament does  not  interfere  with  the  charters  of  the 
towns  for  partisan  purposes.  The  form  of  govern- 
ment for  one  town  is  the  form  for  all.  By  reason 
of  this  fact  American  observers  have  assumed  that 
the  English  city  is  free  to  do  as  it  wills.  But  the 
reverse  is  true.  The  Town  Councils  have  much 
power  of  independent  action  in  the  administration 
of  the  schools,  police,  and  sanitary  departments. 
Their  powers  are  ample  when  they  do  not  conflict 
with  the  class  which  owns.  In  all  matters  which 
endanger  some  vested  interest,  however,  supervision 
by  Parliament  is  constant.     The    aristocracy   has 


146  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

given  the  people  all  of  the  appearance  without  the 
substance  of  power.  The  adjustment  is  so  cleverly 
made  that  it  does  not  suggest  disingenuousness.  In 
form,  the  British  city  is  a  simple  democracy.  In 
reality  it  is  in  a  state  of  servitude.  It  is  free  to 
elect  whom  it  will — conservative,  liberal,  radical, 
socialist.  But  when  the  Town  Council  desires  to 
do  anything  that  affects  the  land,  or  the  tenements, 
or  the  franchise  corporations,  it  must  go  to  Parlia- 
ment for  permission.  In  other  words,  the  Councils 
do  not  legislate  on  any  of  the  most  important  ques- 
tions affecting  the  city.  Parliament  is  the  real 
Town  Council  for  all  of  Great  Britain,  just  as  Con- 
gress is  the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  the  District  of 
Columbia, 

Thus  the  freedom  of  the  British  city  is  not  a  very 
substantial  thing.  It  is  bound  by  parliamentary 
thongs.  It  may  not  move  in  any  direction  which 
affects  the  purse  of  the  over-lord  without  the  per- 
mission of  the  over-lord.  The  sovereignty  of  the 
city  is  really  subordinate  to  the  sovereignty  of  the 
landlord.  And  the  landlords  are  in  perfect  har- 
mony as  to  the  things  they  want.  There  is  no  pool, 
no  syndicate,  not  even  a  gentlemen's  agreement. 
The  London  County  Council  is  not  permitted  to  do 
anything  to  disturb  the  lands,  the  tenements,  or 
the  markets  of  the  Duke  of  Westminster,  or  the 
Duke  of  Bedford,  because  a  similar  demand  might 
be  made  against  the  land,  the  tenements,  or  the 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  CITIES  147 

markets  of  Lord  Derby  at  Liverpool,  or  the  Duke  of 
Norfolk  at  Sheffield.  All  this  is  not  corruption.  It 
is  the  instinct  of  a  sympathetic  aristocracy,  which 
always  controls  the  House  of  Lords ;  and,  when  the 
Conservative  party  is  in  power,  the  House  of  Com- 
mons also.  It  is  this  that  denies  the  British  city 
the  right  of  home  rule. 

In  respect  to  the  things  it  can  do,  the  American 
city  is  much  more  free.  Contrary  to  accepted  opin- 
ion, we  have  a  larger  degree  of  home  rule  than  pre- 
vails in  Great  Britain.  Our  cities  can  purchase 
water-works  on  their  own  initiative.  They  can  in- 
stall electric  lighting  plants,  and  frequently  gas 
enterprises.  And  once  acquired,  they  can  manage 
these  undertakings  as  they  will.  In  most  States, 
the  cities  can  erect  competing  plants  if  the  private 
companies  are  exorbitant  in  their  charges  or  arro- 
gant in  their  demeanour.  Our  city  councils  have 
considerable  power  to  regulate  private  corpora- 
tions, subject  always  to  review  by  the  courts.  They 
can  borrow  money  on  their  own  volition  or  with 
the  sanction  of  a  popular  vote.  Permission  from 
the  legislature  must  be  secured  in  the  first  instance, 
hut  it  is  usually  granted  to  all  of  the  cities  of  the 
State  or  to  all  of  the  cities  of  a  class.  The  cities 
can  buy  such  land  as  they  need  by  compulsory  pur- 
chase. They  can  do  as  they  will  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  schools,  libraries,  markets,  baths, 
parks,  and  streets.    Property  can  be  destroyed  when 


148  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

it  becomes  a  menace  to  the  community.  Health  ad- 
ministration is  free  from  interference,  as  is  the 
police  force.  There  is  a  generosity  in  the  powers 
enjoyed  that  is  not  found  in  Great  Britain.  Some 
of  our  cities,  especially  in  the  West,  have  almost 
complete  home  rule,  and  the  only  obstacle  to  its 
further  extension  is  traceable  to  the  activity  of 
the  franchise  corporations,  fearful  of  ownership  or 
regulation  at  the  hands  of  the  people. 

True,  our  cities  are  far  from  the  ideal  of  a  city 
republic  endowed  with  full  power  to  govern  itself. 
But  the  English  city  has  no  such  generous  powers 
as  have  been  described  conferred  upon  it  by  uni- 
form law. 

In  Great  Britain,  the  city  can  only  borrow 
money  after  it  has  secured  the  approval  of  Parlia- 
ment. In  all  matters  affecting  the  city's  finances,  a 
similar  sanction  must  be  secured.  In  all  trading 
enterprises,  and  especially  in  the  ownership  of  fran- 
chise corporations,  in  the  treatment  of  the  housing 
question,  or  the  regulation  of  tenements,  in  any 
matter  which  affects  the  vested  rights  of  those  who 
govern,  Parliament  retains  control  even  to  the 
smallest  detail. 

The  Town  Councils  do  not  grant  the  franchises 
to  street  railway,  gas,  water,  electric  light,  or  tele- 
phone companies.  This  is  done  by  Parliament. 
Franchises  are  conferred  by  special  act,  each  sepa- 
rate grant  being  provided  for  by  a  private  bill.    A 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  CITIES  149 

company  wishing  to  operate  in  a  local  area  pro- 
motes its  case  before  Parliament.  It  goes  first  to 
the  Board  of  Trade  for  a  provisional  order ;  but  its 
final  powers  are  obtained  at  Westminster.  General 
laws  have  been  passed  fixing  the  length  of  the  fran- 
chise, its  terms  and  conditions,  and  the  terms  of 
purchase  by  the  city.  But  every  franchise  is  drawn 
to  meet  local  conditions.  Parliament  fixes  the  rate 
of  fare  which  may  be  charged,  and  the  method  of 
construction  and  operation.  The  city  can  protest, 
can  produce  witnesses,  and  ask  for  the  privilege 
of  operating  the  industry  itself.  Saving  in  the  case 
of  railway  and  electricity  undertakings,  over  which 
the  Councils  may  exercise  a  veto,  the  city  cannot 
do  more.  And  Parliament  may  ignore  the  people's 
protest,  although  the  tendency  in  recent  years  has 
been  to  prefer  the  city  to  a  private  company  in  case 
of  conflict. 

Parliament  also  determines  the  rate  of  speed 
of  the  tramways,  the  kind  of  rails  and  poles  and 
construction  to  be  followed.  The  area  to  be  served 
is  fixed  in  the  same  way.  The  same  supervision  is 
exercised  over  electric  lighting,  gas,  and  water  com- 
panies. The  franchises  of  the  lighting  companies 
are  for  forty-two  years,  for  street  railways  for 
twenty-one  years.  Those  of  the  gas  and  water  com- 
panies are  unlimited  in  terms.  Parliament  does 
not  favour  the  public  ownership  of  the  gas  supply 
when  there  is  a  private  statutory  company  already 


150  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

in  the  field.  This  accounts  for  the  fact  that  two- 
thirds  of  the  gas  undertakings  are  still  in  private 
hands.  A  very  careful  supervision  is  maintained 
by  Parliament,  however,  over  the  gas  companies. 
Their  charges  are  limited,  and  in  comparison  with 
American  cities  are  very  low.  The  dividends  are 
fixed  at  from  four  to  six  per  cent.  Stock  may  not 
be  watered,  and  can  only  be  sold  at  public  auction, 
while  a  sliding  scale  permits  the  companies  to  in- 
crease their  dividends  as  they  reduce  their  charges. 
A  similar  oversight  is  maintained  of  the  electric 
light  and  tramway  companies.  On  complaint  being 
made  by  a  locality  the  companies  can  be  required 
to  lower  their  rates  or  improve  their  service.  This 
oversight  on  the  part  of  Parliament  is  very  efficient 
in  the  case  of  gas  undertakings.  The  charges  of  the 
companies,  while  not  so  low  as  those  of  the  public 
plants  are  very  much  below  these  charges  in  Amer- 
ica. Similar  limitations  are  imposed  on  the  pri- 
vate tramway  and  electric  lighting  companies. 

The  very  obvious  necessities  of  health,  and  the 
inadequacy  of  many  private  companies,  has  led  Par- 
liament to  approve  of  the  public  ownership  of  the 
water  supply.  When  purchased  from  a  private  com- 
pany, however,  the  cities  are  compelled  to  pay  an 
excessive  price  for  the  franchise,  based  upon  the 
net  earnings  of  the  plant.  Parliament  feels  that  if 
these  industries  are  to  be  regulated  at  all,  it  should 
be  done  by  their  friends.    For  this  reason  the  cities 


PARLIAMENT  AXD  THE  CITIES  151 

have  practically  no  control  over  service.  For  the 
same  reason,  Parliament  does  not  permit  competi- 
tion, either  the  competition  of  the  city  or  the  com- 
petition of  another  private  company.  It  treats  the 
franchise  corporation  as  a  natural  monopoly,  an 
attitude  which  is  perfectly  reasonable  in  view  of 
the  nature  of  the  undertaking,  as  well  as  of  the  fact 
that  the  members  of  Parliament  are  largely  inter- 
ested in  them. 

In  case  of  purchase  by  the  city,  the  price  to  be 
paid  is  agreed  upon  or  determined  by  arbitration. 
In  either  event,  the  franchise,  unless  it  has  expired, 
must  be  handsomely  paid  for.  Thus  the  city  of 
Liverpool  paid  a  private  company  over  f3,000,000 
for  the  franchises  alone  of  a  street  railway  com- 
pany. Glasgow  and  Birmingham  escaped  this  bur- 
den when  they  acquired  their  street  railway  sys- 
tems. When  the  former  city  took  over  the  horse 
railway  system  in  1894,  the  company  declined  to 
sell  its  equipment.  It  expected  that  the  Council 
would  make  a  failure  of  the  enterprise,  and  that 
the  property  would  revert  to  its  hands.  So  the 
Council  took  over  the  tracks,  which  it  already 
owned,  and  permitted  the  company  to  keep  its 
equipment.  This  action  involved  a  complete  loss 
of  the  company's  investment.  In  the  case  of  the 
electric  lighting  enterprises,  large  sums  have  been 
paid  for  the  unexpired  franchises. 

The  same  solicitude  is  manifested  by  Parliament 


152  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

over  the  city's  finances.  Permission  has  to  be  se- 
cured to  borrow  money  for  any  purpose.  Even  a 
referendum  vote  of  the  people  is  of  no  avail.  A 
special  act  must  be  passed  for  the  purpose.  Par- 
liament also  determines  the  amount  of  money  which 
may  be  borrowed  by  the  city,  as  well  as  the  period 
of  time  in  which  it  must  be  paid.  This  ranges  from 
fifteen  to  sixty  years,  according  to  the  permanency 
of  the  investment.  For  Parliament  is  very  fearful 
of  a  big  local  debt. 

When  a  community  desires  to  own  an  enterprise 
it  lays  its  case  before  the  Board  of  Trade  (one  of 
the  Cabinet  Departments),  and  demonstrates  its 
ability  to  make  a  success  of  the  undertaking.  Then 
a  private  bill  is  introduced.  In  case  of  controversy, 
testimony  may  be  taken  by  a  Parliamentary  Com- 
mittee. This  involves  considerable  expense.  If 
there  is  no  private  company  in  the  field,  and  the 
local  conditions  seem  to  warrant  the  enterprise, 
permission  is  usually  granted.  Later,  if  the  city  de- 
sires to  extend  its  service  into  a  suburb,  it  has  to 
go  to  Parliament  for  another  special  act.  The  same 
is  true  if  it  wishes  to  change  the  motive  power  of 
its  tramways,  to  secure  a  new  source  of  water  sup- 
ply, or  to  change  the  candle-power  of  its  gas.  The 
city  cannot  sell  gas  stoves  or  fittings ;  cannot  carry 
packages  on  its  tramways;  it  cannot  wire  houses, 
without  special  Parliamentary  sanction.  With  all 
of  their  local  knowledge  and  business  ability,  the 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  CITIES  153 

Town  Councils  are  not  permitted  to  decide  even 
these  insignificant  matters. 

This  Parliamentary  oversight  is  very  costly  to  the 
towns.  Disbursements  for  solicitors,  agents,  and 
experts,  incurred  in  the  promotion  of  bills,  appear 
in  the  annual  budgets  of  every  city.  In  many  in- 
stances these  expenditures  run  into  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars  every  year.  As  elsewhere 
appears,  the  local  authorities  of  Great  Britain  ex- 
pended $3,490,000  in  six  years'  time  in  the  promo- 
tion of  measures  of  local  necessity  and  in  protect- 
ing themselves  from  adverse  legislation  by  Parlia- 
ment. 

While  the  Conservative  party,  which  has  been  in 
power  for  nearly  a  generation,  has  been  opposed  to 
municipal  ownership,  it  has  been  forced  by  the 
towns  to  permit  of  its  extension.  The  House  of 
Lords  is  especially  hostile.  Two  commissions  of 
the  Lords  and  Commons  were  created  to  investigate 
municipal  trading.  The  committees  were  far  from 
friendly  in  their  attitude,  and  most  of  the  witnesses 
summoned  were  those  identified  with  the  financial 
and  business  interests  seeking  private  grants.1 

Despite  this  fact,  but  little  damaging  evidence 
was  brought  to  light  at  the  hearings.  The  commit- 
tee made  no  positive  findings,  save  in  the  matter 
of  accounting,  about  which  it  made  some  recom- 

"The  testimony  taken  at  the  hearings  in  1900  and  1903  is 
published  in  two  voluminous  Blue  Books  under  the  title:  "The 
Report  of  the  Joint  Select  Committee  on  Municipal  Trading." 


154  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

mendations.  But  tlie  very  general  financial  success 
of  the  tramway,  water,  and  electricity  enterprises 
has  established  a  strong  presumption  in  favour  of 
the  local  authorities  in  case  of  contest  with  a  pri- 
vate company  over  the  grant. 

Parliament  seems  to  be  moved  by  the  fear  that 
the  cities  may  grow  too  powerful,  and  endanger  the 
privileges  which  its  members  enjoy.  With  this  in 
view,  it  has  been  made  just  as  difficult  and  just  as 
expensive  as  possible  for  the  towns  to  enter  upon 
municipal  undertakings.  In  the  first  place,  it  is 
costly  for  the  towns  to  secure  the  powers.  Then 
the  plants  must  be  erected  under  Parliamentary 
supervision.  When  franchises  have  been  granted 
to  private  companies  they  are  both  exclusive  and 
for  long  terms.  To  secure  possession  before  the 
termination  of  the  grant,  the  Councils  must  agree 
with  the  companies  on  value,  or  submit  the  matter 
to  arbitration.  The  latter  alternative  is  often  more 
costly  than  the  former,  and  is  only  resorted  to  when 
compromise  is  impossible.  All  these  obstacles  make 
it  difficult  for  the  towns  to  enlarge  their  activities 
or  to  extend  the  scope  of  trading.  Parliament  has 
been  especially  jealous  of  the  London  County  Coun- 
cil. It  has  thwarted  its  endeavours  to  build  up  its 
tram  lines  into  a  comprehensive  system.  For  years 
it  blocked  every  effort  to  municipalise  the  water 
supply.  The  service  was  very  inadequate,  and  the 
charges  of  the  companies  were  based  upon  fran- 


PARLIAMENT  AND  THE  CITIES  155 

chises  granted  generations  ago.  But  Parliament 
prevented  their  acquisition  by  the  metropolis  up 
to  1905.  Even  then  it  refused  to  entrust  the  ad- 
ministration to  the  County  Council.  A  new  Water 
Board  of  sixty-six  members  was  created  for  this 
purpose. 

Not  only  are  the  cities  discouraged  in  their  at- 
tempts to  acquire  the  franchise  corporations,  but 
they  are  constantly  called  upon  to  protect  them- 
selves from  attack  on  the  part  of  those  bent  upon 
securing  for  themselves  and  their  clients  grants  in 
the  city's  streets.  At  the  last  session  of  Parlia- 
ment, the  London  Administrative  Power  Bill  only 
failed  of  passage  by  the  expiration  of  the  session. 
It  was  on  the  calendar,  and  had  almost  been 
reached.  It  provided  for  a  practical  monopoly  of 
the  supply  of  electric  current  in  bulk  for  all  Lon- 
don for  forty-two  years.  Many  people  thought  it 
was  designed  to  put  the  municipal  electric  lighting 
enterprises,  of  which  there  are  fourteen  owned  by 
the  Borough  Councils,  out  of  business.  The  Lon- 
don boroughs  and  the  Council  expended  three-quar- 
ters of  a  million  dollars  to  defeat  the  measure.  But 
the  company  seemed  sure  of  success  because  of  the 
fact  that  over  one  hundred  members  of  Parlia- 
ment were  stockholders  in  the  venture.  At  the 
same  session  other  measures  were  pressed  for  pas- 
sage granting  traction  syndicates  the  right  to  run 
their  cars  over  the  streets  of  Birmingham  and  New- 


156  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

castle.  These  bills  were  only  defeated  by  the  per- 
sistent watchfulness  of  the  cities. 

This  jealous  supervision  cannot  be  explained 
merely  by  a  distrust  of  the  ability  of  the  Town 
Councils.  For  the  powers  of  the  cities  are  very  lib- 
eral in  all  matters  of  a  routine  nature.  The  real 
explanation  is  the  self-interest  of  those  in  control 
of  the  government.  For  those  who  own  the  land  are 
largely  interested  in  the  franchise  corporations. 
The  traction  and  electricity  supply  has  lately  been 
syndicated  into  a  large  monopoly  operating  all  over 
the  United  Kingdom.  In  this  monopoly  many  of 
the  members  of  Parliament  are  interested.  This 
explains  the  unwillingness  of  those  who  rule  to 
concede  any  large  measure  of  home  rule  to  the  cit- 
ies. For  the  aggressive  democracy  of  the  Town 
Councils  would  make  short  work  of  the  age-long 
abuses  which  are  hung  about  their  necks. 

The  same  influences  crib,  cabin,  and  confine  the 
towns  in  dealing  with  the  slums  and  tenements. 
The  housing  evil  is,  at  bottom,  a  land  question,  and 
no  fundamental  relief  is  possible  that  does  not  at- 
tack the  untaxed  monopoly  which  the  land  owners 
enjoy.  But  the  slum  lords  are  powerful  in  Parlia- 
ment, and  Parliament  has  made  but  little  conces- 
sion to  the  demands  of  tenement-ridden  humanity  in 
the  cities.  Local  control  over  the  tenements  would 
strike  at  the  pockets  of  the  land-owning  class,  just 
as  would  the  power  to  regulate  the  franchise  cor- 


PARLIAMENT  AND  TIIE  CITIES  157 

porations.  And  in  granting  powers  to  cope  with 
the  tenement  evil,  such  terms  have  been  imposed 
as  self-interest  exacts.  In  the  clearance  schemes 
of  London,  Glasgow,  Birmingham,  Liverpool,  and 
elsewhere,  the  Councils  have  been  compelled  to  pay 
handsomely  for  the  privilege  of  opening  breathing 
spaces,  or  of  making  the  tenement  habitable.  They 
have  had  to  pay  the  capitalised  value  of  a  slum's 
earnings.  It  thus  became  profitable  for  the  owner 
to  stuff  a  rookery  to  suffocation  in  order  to  increase 
the  price  which  the  community  paid  for  its  destruc- 
tion. The  worse  the  overcrowding  the  greater  the 
rental  value;  and  the  greater  the  rental  received, 
the  more  the  city  had  to  pay  as  damages  for  its 
destruction.  It  thus  became  profitable  to  permit 
property  to  decay  in  order  that  the  Council  would 
be  forced  to  purchase  it  for  its  own  protection. 

While  much  has  been  said  of  the  model  dwellings 
of  the  British  cities,  they  have,  in  fact,  made  but 
little  impression  on  the  slum.  Every  dispossessed 
occupier  had  to  find  housing  elsewhere.  He  was 
driven  to  another  tenement.  His  expulsion  from 
one  locality  merely  shifted  the  disease  to  another 
and  compelled  the  Council  to  repeat  the  process. 
All  over  Great  Britain  there  is  a  house  famine.  As 
I  he  land  is  untaxed,  the  landlord  is  under  no  neces- 
sity to  build.  His  holdings  are  constantly  increas- 
ing in  value. 

Herein  is  the  explanation  of  the  terrible  housing 


158  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

conditions  of  the  cities.  The  people  suffer  from 
house  hunger — a  hunger  imposed  upon  them  by 
the  landlords  in  control  of  Parliament,  whose  rent 
rolls  are  swelled  by  the  famine  which  they  have 
created  by  means  of  the  exemption  of  their  land 
from  direct  taxation.  There  is  land  enough,  and 
energy  enough,  but  there  is  no  chance  for  energy 
to  secure  access  to  the  land.  At  the  same  time 
competitive  rack  rents  in  country  and  city  are  slow- 
ly appropriating  the  wealth  of  the  nation. 

It  is  this  that  explains  the  tyranny  of  the  past 
in  Great  Britain.  At  no  time  has  Parliament  been 
willing  to  clear  the  table  and  rebuild  its  local  insti- 
tutions, as  was  done  by  Napoleon  in  France,  or 
Von  Stein  in  Germany.  Great  Britain  is  yoked  to 
tradition  in  every  domain  of  life,  and  the  cost  to  her 
people  is  immeasurably  great.  Germany,  France, 
Holland,  Switzerland,  even  Italy,  have  shown  more 
confidence  in  the  wisdom  of  to-day  than  has  Great 
Britain.  And  the  Town  Councils,  where  alone 
democracy  has  emerged  from  the  past,  are  burdened 
with  this  distrust  of  anything  that  is  new,  a  distrust 
that  is  born  of  a  fear  that  the  age-long  abuses  which 
rest  so  heavily  upon  the  backs  of  the  people  will 
be  taken  away  from  their  owners. 

To-day,  the  great  struggle  of  the  British  city  is 
to  be  free  from  Parliament,  to  be  accorded  home 
rule.  This  is  one  of  the  most  insistent  political 
needs  of  her  people,  for  four-fifths  of  Britain's  pop- 


PAKLIAHENT  AND  THE  CITIES  159 

illation  live  in  cities.  And  here  alone  is  democracy 
alive.  With  such  a  programme  achieved,  each  city 
could  determine  what  activities  it  desired  to  under- 
take; how  it  would  manage  its  industries;  how  it 
would  dispose  of  its  surplus.  It  could  grapple 
with  the  tenement  problem  in  the  interest  of  its 
wretched  millions,  rather  than  in  the  interest  of 
the  ducal  owners.  The  city  could  readjust  the  bur- 
den of  taxation  and  retake  from  the  unearned  incre- 
ment which  follows  its  growth  enough  for  its  local 
needs.  Vacant  land  could  then  be  taxed  into  use, 
or  it  could  be  bought  by  the  community  in  advance 
of  its  growth. 

Home  rule  would  obviate  the  burdensome  ex- 
penses to  which  the  towns  are  put  in  the  promotion 
of  special  bills.  These  costs  form  a  considerable 
item  in  every  budget.  The  Town  Councils  should 
be  permitted  to  dispose  of  the  city  franchises  to 
such  persons  and  on  such  terms  as  they  wish.  On  a 
referendum  vote  the  city  should  be  permitted  to 
enter  upon  such  enterprises  as  the  people  desire. 
The  Council  should  have  a  free  rein  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  its  own  affairs,  in  the  distribution  of 
earnings  as  well  as  the  rates  of  fare  and  charges. 
These  are  all  local  matters  of  which  the  community 
itself  is  the  best  judge.  And  when  the  Council  is 
in  doubt  the  question  should  be  left  to  the  vote  of 
the  rate-payers. 

The  British  city  has  fully  justified  its  right  to 


160  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

freedom.  It  does  the  things  it  undertakes  amaz- 
ingly well.  There  are  very  few  failures.  It  cannot 
be  said  that  the  Town  Council  may  not  be  trusted. 
They  are  far  more  trustworthy  than  Parliament. 
And  were  the  towns  endowed  with  home  rule,  home 
rule  in  the  matter  of  taxation,  in  the  matter  of  the 
ownership  and  control  of  its  trading  enterprises, 
the  British  city  would  become  in  a  very  short  time 
the  most  interesting  experiment  station  of  indus- 
trial democracy  in  the  world. 

This  supervision  by  Parliament  is  an  equally 
heavy  burden  on  the  Empire.  The  time  of  both 
houses  is  so  occupied  with  local  bills  that  measures 
of  national  importance  are  sacrificed.  The  mem- 
ber from  a  city  district  is  constantly  engaged  in 
looking  out  for  local  measures.  He  is  an  ambas- 
sador from  his  community  to  the  Imperial  Court. 
He  cannot  give  his  energies  to  the  nation  at  large. 
Thus  Parliament  expends  its  time  on  the  petty  de- 
tails of  municipal  administration  which  should  be 
left  to  the  discretion  of  the  Town  Councils. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

GLASGOW— A  CITY  OF  THRIFT  AND  CONSCIENCE 

The  glory  of  Glasgow's  government  is  not  an 
American  myth.  It  is  a  concrete  reality,  even  to 
the  ha'penny  man  on  the  tram.  "We  have  the  best 
city  in  the  Kingdom,  probably  in  the  world,  sir," 
a  casual  neighbour  on  top  of  one  of  Glasgow's  tram- 
cars  said  to  me.  That  sounded  like  Pittsburg,  like 
Chicago,  or  like  the  boastfulness  of  the  American 
Far  West.  But  it  wasn't  the  same  thing.  "You 
seem  to  be  proud  of  your  city,"  I  suggested,  invit- 
ingly. "Of  course  I  am,"  my  friend  responded. 
"Glasgow  sells  me  gas  at  two  shillings  a  thousand, 
it  gives  me  telephone  service  at  little  more  than 
half  what  it  used  to  cost  from  a  private  company; 
it  sells  me  water  and  electricity,  and  does  a  lot  of 
other  things.  As  for  the  Glasgow  trams,  they  beat 
the  world."  "And  the  tax  rate?"  I  inquired.  "Is 
quite  low,"  was  the  reply. 

We  passed  a  bowling-green,  smooth  as  a  billiard 
table.  "The  city  has  just  opened  those  greens,"  said 
my  informant,  and  pointing  to  a  group  of  working- 
men,  he  added :    "Any  one  of  those  men  could  tell 

161 


162  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

you  the  things  I  am  telling  you ;  they  know  all  about 
our  tram  system ;  they  have  a  fair  idea  of  what  the 
system  earns,  and  what  it  costs  to  carry  them. 
They'll  tell  you  whether  the  profits  should  be  used 
to  reduce  fares  or  to  pay  off  the  tramway  debt. 
They  regard  the  trams,  the  gas,  the  water,  the 
electricity,  as  their  business.  A  councilman  has 
got  to  attend  to  the  business  of  those  men.  If  he 
doesn't,  they  'heckle'  the  life  out  of  him." 

That's  what  the  man  on  the  street  says  about  his 
Glasgow.  That's  what  the  poor  unfortunate,  living 
in  a  two-room  tenement,  says.  That's  what  the  mer- 
chant, the  manufacturer,  the  big  business  man, 
says.  They  talk  Glasgow  all  the  time.  Edinburgh 
says  this  is  vulgar.  Edinburgh  says  it  is  undigni- 
fied.   At  all  events,  it's  the  Glaswegian  way. 

Even  at  the  club  I  found  it.  I  was  introduced 
to  a  knot  of  sandy-haired  business  men.  They  were 
deep  in  talk.  I  heard  the  phrases  business  men 
conjure  with  in  America.  I  heard  of  tramways,  of 
gas,  of  electricity,  and  of  telephones.  And  espe- 
cially of  some  big  corporation  in  which  they  all 
seemed  to  be  interested.  One  of  the  men  was  a  ship- 
owner, another  was  a  large  merchant,  another  an 
editor — all  were  men  of  eminence. 

The  talk  turned  to  parks,  to  housing  schemes, 
to  symphony  concerts,  to  a  Whistler  portrait  in  a 
local  art  gallery.  The  corporation  so  absorbing  to 
them  all  turned  out  to  be  the  corporation  of  Glas- 


GLASGOW  163 

gow,  the  biggest  corporation  in  Scotland.  The 
tramways,  the  gas,  the  electricity,  the  symphony 
concerts,  the  Whistler  purchase — all  were  parts  of 
this  Glasgow.  These  men  were  discussing  econo- 
mies, not  parties;  policies,  not  politics — and  they 
did  it  as  if  it  were  their  own  business. 

I  wrent  out  to  the  sewage  disposal  works  at  Dal- 
muir.  An  old  employee  took  me  in  tow.  He  ex- 
plained how  the  sewage  was  collected;  how  it  was 
separated  by  chemical  treatment,  how  the  water 
was  purified  before  being  poured  into  the  River 
Clyde.  It  was  so  pure,  he  said,  that  it  was  fit  to 
drink.  He  offered  me  a  glassful,  but  I  told  him  I 
wasn't  feeling  thirsty  just  at  that  moment.  So  he 
drank  it  himself.  He  told  me  how  much  the  city 
received  from  the  sale  of  the  sludge  as  fertiliser. 
He  explained  the  process  as  a  gardener  might  de- 
scribe the  cultivation  of  some  rare  flower  he  had 
given  his  life  to  producing.  The  man  had  been  in 
the  city  employ  a  long  time.  There  was  little  dig- 
nity, and  less  pay,  about  his  position.  But  he  was 
a  citizen  of  no  mean  city,  and  he  was  proud  of  his 
job.  He  was  loath  to  let  me  leave  him  and  his  cess- 
pool. It  was  all  so  important  to  him,  he  felt  it  must 
be  equally  important  to  the  rest  of  the  world. 

Enthusiasm  and  interest,  devotion  and  pride — 
these  are  the  characteristics  of  Glasgow'  citizenship. 
I  have  talked  with  the  heads  of  the  city  depart- 
ments, with  a  score  of  town  councillors,  with  police 


164  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

and  fire  officials,  with  clerks,  bath-house  custodians, 
and  conductors  on  the  tram-cars — with  all  sorts  of 
men,  Tories  and  Liberals,  Radicals  and  Socialists, 
from  the  Lord  Provost  down  to  the  cab  driver.  And 
this  is  the  sort  of  citizenship  I  have  everywhere 
found. 

Graft?  Yes,  I  heard  some  talk  of  graft.  The 
Glaswegian  doesn't  call  it  that.  He  doesn't  know 
the  word.  But  here  and  there  a  man  would  shake 
his  head  and  say :  "The  Council  isn't  what  it  used 
to  be."  "It  rather  amazes  me,"  said  a  newspaper 
editor,  "to  read  what  you  Americans  are  always 
saying  about  us.  Of  course,  though,  I  am  a  pessi- 
mist ;  but  I  cannot  help  feeling  that  the  outlook  here 
isn't  very  good.  The  make-up  of  the  Council  is 
changing.  No,  I  have  no  personal  knowledge  of 
corruption,  but  there  are  men  who  have.  I'll  give 
you  a  note  to  a  former  councilman,"  mentioning 
a  prominent  business  man ;  "he  knows  all  about  the 
way  things  are  going  down  in  the  Council  cham- 
ber." 

It  was  true,  then,  this  that  I  had  so  often  heard 
in  America — that  no  city  could  go  in  for  such  exten- 
sive business  as  Glasgow  had  undertaken,  without 
corruption;  that  public  ownership  was  bound  to 
demoralise  a  city.  And  here  it  was.  Had  even 
Glasgow  nothing  to  teach  America?  For  that  was 
what  I  was  looking  for,  lessons  in  city  administra- 
tion. 


GLASGOW  165 

I  called  on  one  of  Glasgow's  most  distinguished 
citizens.  He  had  been  in  the  Council  fifteen  years, 
and  had  but  recently  retired.  He,  too,  was  inclined 
to  send  me  away  with  the  indefinite  remark  that 
the  Council  was  not  what  it  once  was;  that  there 
were  two  or  three  aldermen  who  had  no  visible 
means  of  support;  mere  adventurers,  he  called 
them,  who  were  making  use  of  their  positions  in 
questionable  ways. 

"Let  me  see,"  I  inquired,  remembering  Chicago, 
Philadelphia,  and  St.  Louis.  "You  have  no  street 
railway,  gas,  or  electricity  franchises  to  give  away ; 
no  contracts  to  light  the  streets,  for  you  do  all  these 
things  yourselves.  You  have  abolished  the  con- 
tractor, and  do  your  own  work.  You  have  no  fran- 
chises, grants,  or  privileges,  have  you?" 

"Oh,  nothing  of  that  kind,  if  that's  what  you 
mean  by  graft,"  he  promptly  replied. 

This  was  mystifying.  Here  was  corruption,  but 
corruption  without  cause,  for  there  was  no  one  to 
tempt  the  official.  And  men  do  not  bribe  them- 
selves. When  pressed  to  be  more  definite,  he  said : 
"Well,  there's  Bailee  so  and  so,"  mentioning  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Council.  "He  was  sitting  in  licence  court 
some  years  ago,  and  one  evening  he  found  on  his 
desk  an  envelope  containing  fifty  pounds.  It  was 
from  a  public-house  keeper  (saloon  keeper)  who 
wanted  a  licence."  "That  was  bad,"  I  suggested. 
"Was  the  magistrate  prosecuted?"  "Of  course  not," 


166  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

came  the  indignant  protest.  "He  didn't  keep  the 
money.  He  made  the  matter  known  at  once,  and  the 
applicant  was  arrested.  And,  of  course,  he  didn't 
get  his  licence." 

I  professed  the  proper  amount  of  horror,  and 
asked,  "Any  other  instances  of  graft?"  "Well,  that 
was  a  number  of  years  ago.  There  was  another 
case  of  the  same  kind,  but  it  wasn't  so  bad  as  that, 
and  we  couldn't  prove  anything.  But,"  he  contin- 
ued, "the  trade  is  very  active  in  politics.  The  liquor 
interests  are  said  to  have  backed  one  or  two  men 
for  the  Council,  men  who  have  no  business  or  pro- 
fession, and  who  simply  live  by  their  wits." 

Undoubtedly  "the  trade"  is  active  in  politics. 
The  Council  names  fourteen  of  its  members  as  mag- 
istrates in  the  police  court.  They  determine  what 
licences  shall  be  granted,  and  what  refused.  There 
is  evidence  that  the  trade  has  organised  for  protec- 
tion. It  is  certain  that  it  aided  in  defeating  Sir 
Samuel  Chisholm,  one  of  the  most  distinguished 
councilmen  the  city  ever  had.  He  had  made  him- 
self obnoxious  by  a  crusade  against  the  traffic.  Sir 
Samuel  is  a  prominent  wholesale  merchant.  After 
having  been  in  the  Town  Council  for  half  a  genera- 
tion, he  became  Lord  Provost,  the  highest  distinc- 
tion in  the  community.  As  Lord  Provost  he  urged 
the  clearing  of  some  disreputable  slums  and  the 
erection  of  model  dwelling  houses  for  the  poor. 
This  would  have  involved  an  increase  in  the  tax 


GLASGOW  167 

rate.  The  more  parsimonious  among  the  rate-pay- 
ers combined  with  the  trade  and  defeated  him  for 
re-election. 

The  city  is  not  menaced  by  any  special  privileges. 
It  is  a  government  of  the  tax-pa^^ers,  for  the  tax- 
payers, by  the  tax-payers.  For  only  tax-payers  vote. 
I  never  knew  a  city  that  hated  taxes  as  much  as 
does  Glasgow,  and  talked  so  everlastingly  about  the 
rates.  Any  measure  involving  taxation,  even  for 
the  relief  of  the  poor — and  the  poor  of  Glasgow  are 
terribly  poor,  indeed — has  to  pass  a  jealous  scru- 
tiny. Away  back  in  the  sixties  the  rate-payers  de- 
feated Lord  Provost  Blackie,  who  had  promoted 
the  splendid  clearance  schemes  for  the  destruction 
of  the  city's  worst  slums.  Glasgow  is  a  tax-payers' 
administration.  I  fancy  it  was  these  same  tax- 
payers who  took  over  the  various  undertak- 
ings of  which  the  city  is  so  proud.  With  Scotch 
thrift  they  hated  to  see  the  profits  go  into  private 
pockets. 

But  I  was  not  through  with  graft.  I  had  read 
in  the  London  Times  that  the  increasing  army  of 
municipal  employees  was  a  menace  to  British  insti- 
tutions. I  knew  something  of  the  spoils  system  in 
America;  knew  that  most  people  who  feared  mu- 
nicipal ownership  feared  it  because  of  this  fact. 
And  here  in  Glasgow  there  are  15,000  men  in  the 
city's  employ.  One-tenth  of  all  the  voters  are  on 
the  pay-rolls.     Here  was  the  only  possible  source 


168  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

of  corruption.  For  nobody  even  suggested  that  the 
city  had  been  sold  out  to  "the  trade,"  or  that  the  so- 
called  "adventurers"  in  the  Council  had  ever  sac- 
rificed the  city  for  their  own  advantage.  I  had  been 
told  by  a  prominent  citizen  that  the  employees  in 
the  gas  department  had  once  organised  and  threat- 
ened to  put  the  city  in  darkness  if  their  wages  were 
not  raised.  Here  was  something  real,  something 
I  could  verify.  This  was  something  ominous,  for  all 
of  our  cities  are  adding  to  their  activities  and  tak- 
ing on  new  burdens  which  involve  an  increasing 
number  of  employees.  I  went  to  Mr.  James  Dal- 
rymple,  the  manager  of  the  tramways,  which  the 
Glasgow  people  say  are  the  best  in  the  world.  The 
department  employs  4,400  men.  I  asked  Mr.  Dal- 
rymple  if  his  men  were  in  politics;  if  their  unions 
had  ever  endeavoured  to  influence  the  Council,  or 
had  tried  to  coerce  the  city.  "Never  within  my 
knowledge,"  he  said.  "The  city  is  the  best  union 
they  can  have,  for  the  city  pays  good  wages,  better 
than  the  private  company  did.  The  city  gives  the 
men  a  nine-hour  day;  it  provides  them  with  free 
uniforms;  they  have  five  days'  holiday  a  year  on 
pay,  and  get  sick  benefits  when  off  duty.  They  do 
not  need  any  union,  although  the  city  would  not 
mind  if  they  did  organise.  There  were  one  or  two 
instances  of  protest  over  piece-work,  but  we  told 
the  men  they  could  work  as  they  pleased.  There  has 
never  been  a  strike,  and  never  since  the  department 


GLASGOW  169 

was  opened,  in  1894,  have  they  attempted  to  influ- 
ence the  election  of  a  councilman." 

But  the  trouble  had  been  in  the  gas  department. 
So  I  went  to  the  gas  manager.  I  asked  him  about 
the  strike,  asked  him  what  had  happened  when  the 
men  threatened  to  close  the  works  and  blackmail 
the  city  into  submission.  The  strike  turned  out  to 
have  been  the  reverse  of  serious.  Some  years  before 
an  effort  had  been  made  to  organise  the  workers 
into  a  union.  A  handful  of  men  left  work  without 
giving  notice,  as  they  are  required  to  do  by  law. 
They  were  promptly  discharged,  and  later  prose- 
cuted for  leaving  the  works.  There  had  been  no 
danger  that  the  plant  would  close  down.  This  was 
the  extent  of  this  incident.  It  was  as  far  as  any 
of  the  15,000  employees  have  ever  gone  in  control- 
ling the  Council.  From  time  to  time  I  heard  ref- 
erences to  this  danger  from  others,  but  of  council- 
manic  influence,  or  attempted  coercion,  I  never 
heard  of  a  single  serious  instance  in  all  England. 
Nor  has  the  spoils  system  a  place  here.  They  do 
not  know  what  the  spoils  system  means,  although 
England  has  no  civil  service  laws.  Each  man  runs 
his  department  as  he  would  a  business.  He  picks 
out  the  best  men  he  can  find;  the  city  pays  good 
wages,  and  the  employee  remains  as  long  as  his  ser- 
vice is  satisfactory. 

This  ended  my  pursuit  of  graft.  I  did  ask  the 
Lord  Provost,  who  has  been  in  the  Council  for 


170  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

twenty  years,  about  it.  "There  is  none,"  he  said. 
"Any  man  who  gave  colour  to  the  suspicion  that  he 
was  dishonest,  that  he  was  interested  in  a  city  con- 
tract, that  he  even  sought  to  make  a  place  for  a 
relative  or  a  friend,  would  be  treated  as  a  pariah. 
He  would  be  ostracised  both  in  the  Council  and 
out  of  it." 

The  Lord  Provost  is  the  head  of  the  city.  He  is 
as  like  our  mayor  as  anything  they  have,  and  as 
near  a  boss  as  anything  I  found — only  he  is  neither. 
He  has  no  offices  to  fill;  no  veto  messages  to  write; 
no  party  to  lead;  no  salary  to  enjoy;  no  honours  or 
emoluments  to  bestow.  He  is  a  titular  dignitary, 
the  first  among  equals.  That  is  all.  He  is  elected 
as  a  councilman  by  his  ward,  and  then  chosen 
mayor  by  the  council  over  whose  meetings  he  pre- 
sides. He  is  an  ew-officio  member  of  all  committees, 
and  his  influence  on  legislation  and  the  life  of  the 
city  depends  upon  his  character,  not  upon  his  legal 
powers.  He  represents  the  city  on  official  occa- 
sions, receives  the  King  and  distinguished  guests. 
No  man  can  accept  the  position  unless  he  can  afford 
to  neglect  his  business  and  spend  a  considerable 
sum  of  money  in  maintaining  the  dignity  of  the 
office.  The  office  is  one  of  expense,  not  of  income. 
Despite  his  lack  of  legal  authority,  the  Lord  Pro- 
vost exerts  great  influence  on  administration.  He 
is  the  busiest  man  in  the  city.  His  daily  programme 


GLASGOW  171 

is  as  full  as  that  of  a  debutante  at  her  first  ball. 
At  the  Town  Hall  by  ten,  the  morning  is  filled  with 
correspondence  and  the  sessions  of  committees. 
Then  an  official  luncheon.  Later,  perhaps,  a  meet- 
ing of  the  Council,  over  which  he  presides,  with 
frequent  interruptions  to  attend  some  public  gath- 
ering. In  the  evening  a  dinner,  some  notable  gath- 
ering, a  congress  or  fair  to  be  opened  with  a  speech. 
Later  another  address,  possibly  before  some  work- 
ingmen's  organisation.  To  these  demands  are  added 
various  duties  which  fall  upon  him  ex-officio,  not 
to  speak  of  the  arbitrament  of  labour  disputes,  the 
representation  of  the  city's  interests  before  Parlia- 
ment, and  a  host  of  other  claims  all  equally  in- 
sistent. 

What  are  the  returns  for  all  this  sacrifice?  When 
the  Lord  Provost  retires  from  office  the  city  has  his 
portrait  painted  and  hangs  it  in  the  Municipal  Art 
Gallery.  It  also  places  an  official  coach  and  pair 
at  his  disposal.  His  other  returns?  Well,  they  are 
certainly  not  of  a  financial  sort.  One  of  them  is 
the  order  of  knighthood,  which  is  usually  bestowed 
by  the  King.  I  asked  the  present  Lord  Provost 
about  these  things.  I  had  seen  the  portraits  of  his 
predecessors  in  the  art  gallery — all  fine-looking 
men,  clad  in  purple  robes  and  ermine,  with  massive 
gold  emblems  about  their  necks.  So  I  did  not  rec- 
ognise as  the  Lord  Provost  the  alert,  breezy,  busi- 
ness man  who  dashed  into  his  office  like  a  railway 


172  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

magnate  eager  for  the  day's  mail.  While  waiting 
in  the  ante-room  I  had  learned  something  about  the 
present  incumbent,  Sir  John  Ure  Primrose.  He 
is  a  wealthy  miller,  and  has  been  in  the  Council  for 
twenty  years.  During  that  time  he  has  never  had 
a  contest  for  his  seat.  For  these  people  keep  a  man 
in  office  as  long  as  he  is  satisfactory.  They  do  not 
care  whether  he  is  a  Conservative  or  a  Liberal.  He 
may  be  a  Labour  candidate  or  a  Socialist.  All  his 
constituents  ask  is  that  he  be  a  good  councilman. 
He  must  be  that.  There  is  no  party  nomination,  no 
party  ticket,  no  platform — only  the  man  himself. 
There  are  ward  committees — of  a  purely  voluntary 
sort — which  look  after  local  interests.  Two  voters 
with  six  seconders  can  place  any  man  in  nomina- 
tion. The  candidate  has  no  assessments  to  pay, 
no  expenses  to  incur,  no  party  to  subscribe  to,  no 
'boss  to  bow  to,  no  machine  to  placate.  In  America, 
the  politicians  tell  us  we  must  have  parties  in  order 
to  have  responsible  government.  The  American 
official  is  made  responsible  to  his  party,  which  is 
his  boss.  With  us  the  party  is  a  fetich.  The  Glas- 
gow alderman  is  responsible  to  the  most  exacting 
of  masters — the  people.  There  is  the  difference. 
But  if  he  serves  them  well  he  may  remain  as  long 
as  he  likes.  Of  the  seventy-five  elected  members 
now  in  the  Council,  more  than  one-third  have  been 
there  for  at  least  ten  years,  eighteen  have  been  in 
office  for  at  least  fourteen  years,  while  four  have 


GLASGOW  173 

served  their  wards  for  over  twenty  years.  Like  a 
member  of  Parliament,  the  alderman  need  not  live 
in  the  ward  he  represents.  In  fact,  not  more  than 
one-third  of  them  do.  And  about  one-half  never 
have  any  contests  for  their  seats. 

The  election  is  as  simple  as  the  nomination.  The 
ticket  before  the  voter  contains  only  the  names  of 
the  councilmanic  nominees.  The  issue  is  clear.  It 
is  not  confused  by  national  questions. 

Here  is  pure  democracy,  the  simplest  that  could 
be  devised.  Nominations  and  elections  by  the  peo- 
ple directly,  and  so  simply  arranged  that  the  issue 
cannot  be  evaded,  cannot  be  confused.  There  is  no 
boss,  no  machine,  no  party,  nothing  between  the 
people  and  their  servant.  When  a  ward  is  con- 
tested, however,  the  campaign  is  as  hot  as  if  a  seat 
in  Parliament  were  at  stake,  and  the  candidate  has 
to  submit  to  a  harassing  "heckling"  from  the  vot- 
ers as  to  his  position  on  local  questions.  In  this 
art  the  Scotch  are  masters.  It  is  a  body  so  chosen 
that  every  three  years  elects  from  out  its  number 
its  most  distinguished  member,  the  Lord  Provost. 

Lord  Provost  Sir  John  Ure  Primrose  was  a  prod- 
uct of  this  local  democracy.  He  happened  to  be  a 
Conservative.  His  predecessor,  Sir  Samuel  Chis- 
holm,  was  a  distinguished  Liberal.  William  Bils- 
land,  who  followed  as  mayor,  is  a  Liberal.  These 
men  were  chosen  without  any  change  in  the  politi- 
cal colour  of  the  Council.    I  asked  the  Lord  Provost 


174  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

Primrose  why  he  gave  up  his  time  and  business  the 
way  he  did  for  the  city.1 

"It's  in  the  blood,"  he  said.  "I  had  an  uncle  who 
was  Lord  Provost  before  me.  I  was  influenced  by 
his  example.  As  far  back  as  I  can  remember,  I  was 
hoping  to  be  Lord  Provost.  Even  as  a  lad  I  con- 
ceived the  ambition  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  my 
uncle,  John  Ure.  Even  as  a  schoolboy  I  made  a 
study  of  extempore  speaking,  keeping  before  me  this 
ideal  of  public  life.  I  was  the  oldest  of  a  family 
of  twelve,  and  necessarily  went  into  business  as  a 
young  man.  At  the  age  of  thirty  I  entered  public 
life,  being  elected  to  the  Council  of  the  Borough  of 
Goven.  Later  I  was  elected  to  the  Council  of  Glas- 
gow, where  I  have  served  the  city  ever  since." 

"What  was  this  boyish  ambition?"  I  asked. 

"It  was  an  ambition  to  make  the  city  a  little  bet- 
ter before  I  die." 

"Wouldn't  you  rather  be  an  M.P.  ?" 

"Decidedly  not.  A  member  of  Parliament  is  but 
part  of  a  machine.  The  work  in  the  Town  Council 
is  creative.  A  man  sees  his  work  grow  before  his 
eyes." 

"Is  there  any  connection  between  the  public  spirit 
of  men  like  you  and  the  public  undertakings,  such 

*Sir  John  Ure  Primrose  retired  in  November,  1905,  on  the 
expiration  of  his  term.  He  was  succeeded  by  a  Liberal,  Will- 
iam Bilsland,  who,  in  addition,  is  a  leading  advocate  of  the 
Taxation  of  Land  Values,  as  the  Single-Taxer  is  called  in 
Scotland. 


GLASGOW  175 

as  the  trams,  gas,  water,  electricity,  and  telephones, 
which  the  city  carries  on  for  its  people?"  I  asked. 

"Decidedly.  A  new  ardour  of  citizenship  came  in 
about  1894,  the  time  when  the  city  went  in  for  the 
tramway  undertaking  and  a  lot  of  other  things. 
When  the  city  thus  proved  its  interest  in  the  people 
the  people  responded  by  showing  an  increased  in- 
terest in  the  city.  It's  the  ambition  of  every  citizen 
to  serve  in  the  Council.  Every  interest  is  repre- 
sented there — business,  professional,  and  even  the 
labouring  man.  We  have  some  men  of  wealth  who 
would  not  run  for  the  Council.  They  are  afraid  to 
rub  shoulders  with,  the  labouring  man.  In  a  gen- 
eral way,  Glasgow  has  the  civic  spirit  of  the  medi- 
aeval Italian  cities,  though  in  a  less  perfervid  and 
cultured  form." 

"Have  you  any  Socialists  in  the  Council?" 

"Yes;  but  Socialists  aren't  so  bad.  Even  their 
dreams  are  honest  dreams.  But  they  are  not  politi- 
cal Socialists  there,  for  we  have  no  politics  in  the 
Council.  The  Conservative,  the  Liberal,  the  Radi- 
cal, and  the  Socialist  all  work  together  for  the  city's 
good." 

"You  people  have  taken  over  the  water,  gas,  elec- 
tricity, tramways,  and  telephone.  Is  there  any  op- 
position to  these  undertakings  in  the  city?" 

"The  gas  and  water  were  before  my  time.  We 
took  over  the  trams  only  after  a  long  fight.  Tha 
old  private  company  that  had  a  franchise  gave  us 


176  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

wretched  service,  were  very  arrogant,  while  the 
condition  of  their  employees  was  not  very  good.  In 
1894  their  franchise  expired,  and  the  Council  de- 
cided to  take  the  business  over.  We  reduced  the 
fares,  increased  the  length  of  the  rides,  nearly 
trebled  the  mileage,  and  now  it  yields  a  splendid 
revenue.  There  is  nobody  in  the  city  who  would 
think  of  going  back  to  private  ownership.  We  took 
over  the  electricity  in  1902,  and  the  telephones 
about  the  same  time." 

"Where  is  this  policy  going  to  stop?"  I  inquired. 

"I  hold  that  everything  that  is  in  its  essence  a 
monopoly,  and  is  essential  to  the  well-being  of  every 
citizen  of  every  degree,  should  be  owned  by  the  com- 
munity. These  things  are  the  universal  necessities ; 
they  are  the  things  people  cannot  live  without. 
Then,  too,  they  are  monopolies.  Every  man  uses 
water  and  gas ;  everyone  rides  on  a  tramway.  These 
things  lie  at  the  heart  and  well-being  of  every  citi- 
zen of  the  community.  I  don't  believe  in  going  too 
fast,  however.  I  don't  believe  in  three  volcanoes  at 
once.  I  believe  in  evolution — which  means  that 
each  undertaking  should  be  perfected  before  the 
next  one  is  begun.  We  must  keep  the  confidence  of 
the  citizens.  The  corporation  must  never  make  a 
mistake.  The  telephone  is  not  a  universal  neces- 
sity. That  is  the  reason  I  opposed  the  city  going 
in  for  it.  We  can  live  without  it.  Besides,  its  des- 
tiny is  national,  not  local." 


GLASGOW  177 

.  That  was  all  very  well,  I  thought,  but  we  have 
some  good  mayors  in  America.  We  have  men  of 
proved  honesty,  men  of  capacity,  men  of  disinter- 
ested service.  And  in  recent  years  we  have  had 
mayors  with  big  ideals,  men  like  Tom  Johnson  in 
Cleveland,  like  Hazen  S.  Pingree  in  Detroit,  like 
Edward  F.  Dunne  in  Chicago,  like  Seth  Low  in 
New  York,  like  Sam  Jones  and  Brand  Whitlock 
in  Toledo.  So  there  was  nothing  either  startling 
or  new  about  a  good  mayor.  But  our  Councils  are 
bad,  almost  all  of  them.  And  here  the  Council 
chooses  the  Lord  Provost.  I  had  to  know  the  Coun- 
cil, so  I  went  to  the  Council  chamber. 

It  was  a  massive  room  like  the  Senate  chamber 
at  Washington;  it  was  a  chamber  fitted  to  a  city 
that  thought  well  of  itself.  The  Council  had  dig- 
nity, but  a  dignity  with  all  the  ardour  of  the  House 
of  Representatives.  The  Lord  Provost  sat  in  a 
throne-like  chair.  About  him  were  those  who  had 
elected  him  and  those  who  will  elect  his  successor 
when  he  retires  from  office. 

I  was  not  alone  as  a  visitor.  The  Postmaster- 
General  of  Canada,  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Dublin,  the 
Mayor  of  Frankfort,  Germany,  a  delegation  from 
Belgium,  visitors  from  South  Africa,  and  three  or 
four  others  from  America  were  there  observing  this 
little  republic  at  work.  For  the  fame  of  Glasgow 
seems  as  wide  as  the  world.  And  the  representa- 
tives of  the  world's  cities  met  there  in  cordial  fra- 


178  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

ternity  to  learn  of  one  another's  experiments.  This 
was  the  tenor  of  the  addresses.  Not  war  and  jeal- 
ousy, but  friendship  and  hospitality. 

They  said  it  was  a  quiet  day.  The  Council  was 
passing  on  the  accounts  of  the  tramway,  gas,  police, 
and  cleansing  committees.  It  was  their  annual  re- 
port to  the  directors  and  stockholders  of  this  big 
corporation.  The  Council  committees  and  their 
managers  were  justifying  their  stewardship.  It 
would  have  been  a  bad  day  for  a  delinquent,  had 
there  been  any.  It  was  a  hard-headed,  blunt  crowd 
that  listened  to  the  reports.  They  despatched  the 
business  of  the  day  with  a  thoroughness  and  a 
knowledge  of  details  that  suggested  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  United  States  sitting  in  judgment. 
They  indulged  in  little  rhetoric  and  less  praise. 
Their  candour  seemed  almost  brutal.  There  were 
shipbuilders  and  shipowners,  big  merchants  and 
professional  men.  There  were  a  dozen  labour  rep- 
resentatives. Some  of  them  were  socialists.  Here 
I  fancied  I  saw  the  beginnings  of  a  party.  It  was 
not  organised  as  such,  but  its  programme  was  evi- 
dent in  all  the  discussions.  It  was  Scotch  thrift 
and  humanity,  the  big  rate-payer  and  the  wage- 
earner,  that  lined  up  in  a  parliamentary  struggle 
over  the  division  of  the  surplus  of  the  tramways 
undertaking.  Should  the  profits  go  to  the  sinking 
fund,  depreciation,  and  a  big  reserve,  or  should 
the  rates  of  fare  be  reduced  and  the  haul  for  a  ha'- 


GLASGOW  17!) 

penny  lengthened?  The  former  policy  always  won 
— for  Glasgow  is,  before  all  else,  a  city  of  thrift, 
of  caution,  of  prudence.  It  delights  in  a  big  profit 
account.  No  board  of  directors  ever  protected  their 
investments  more  surely  from  disaster,  or  found 
greater  delight  in  an  increasing  dividend  to  the 
stockholders.  To  be  rid  of  the  tramway  debt  seemed 
the  consuming  ambition.  I  have  never  heard  more 
intelligent  discussion  of  the  principles  that  should 
underlie  public  or  private  business  than  I  heard 
from  these  men,  the  majority  of  whom  had  strug- 
gled up  from  humble  beginnings.  Many  of  them 
were  small  tradesmen,  bakers,  butchers,  hatters; 
but  they  knew  finance.  Hugh  Alexander,  the  chair- 
man of  the  tramways  committee,  led  the  debate.  He 
once  said  in  the  Council  that  he  had  been  educated 
on  three  books :  Fox's  "Book  of  Martyrs,''  Boston's 
"Fourfold  State,"  and  Harvey's  "Meditations 
Among  the  Tombs."  And  he  discussed  the  obliga- 
tions of  the  Council  to  its  enterprises  with  the  same 
seriousness  that  he  might  have  talked  of  predestina- 
tion or  free  will. 

Of  such  stuff  are  the  directors  of  the  corporation 
of  Glasgow.  These  are  her  captains  of  municipal 
industry.  It  is  such  men  who  have  sent  the  glory 
of  her  efficiency  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

Fourteen  of  the  seventy-seven  are  bailees  chosen 
by  the  Council.  In  addition  to  their  other  duties, 
they  sit  as  police  court  magistrates,  and  dispense 


ISO  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

justice  from  two  to  four  hours  a  day.  Some  are  on 
as  many  as  nine  committees.  All  of  them  serve  on 
five  or  six.  Many  of  them  are  engaged  on  public 
business  all  day  long. 

Here  was  a  Town  Council  without  corruption — 
at  least  we  would  smile  at  such  irregularities  as 
disturb  the  Glaswegian ;  a  Council  wThich  knows  no 
party  politics,  and  elected  a  Liberal  to  succeed  a 
Conservative  as  Lord  Provost  without  a  change  in 
its  political  complexion.  Here,  too,  was  a  city 
which  knows  no  boss  but  itself;  which  takes  the 
merit  system  as  a  matter  of  course,  and  without 
any  law  enforcing  it;  a  city  which  keeps  its  offi- 
cials in  office  as  long  as  they  will  stay,  or  as  long  as 
they  serve  the  convictions  of  their  constituents;  a 
city  which  makes  its  enterprises  pay,  and  pay  big, 
and  watches  its  finances  as  prudently  as  the  most 
conservative  banking  house;  a  city  in  which  it  is 
the  ambition  of  every  citizen  to  serve  without  pay 
and  without  return,  save  in  the  approval  of  his 
fellows. 

Here,  too,  is  a  city  which  knows  no  favour,  no 
friendship,  no  politics,  in  the  choice  of  its  servants. 
"Wanted,  a  Town  Clerk.  The  Corporation  of  Glas- 
gow," so  the  newspaper  advertisement  runs,  "in- 
vites applications  for  the  office  of  Town  Clerk, 
which  is  about  to  become  vacant.  The  salary  will 
be  $10,000  a  year."  Here  was  the  most  important 
salaried  office  within  the  gift  of  the  Council,  an 


GLASGOW  181 

office  which  combines  the  duties  of  the  city  solicitor 
as  well  as  all  the  clerical  duties  of  the  city,  hunting 
for  the  man,  much  as  a  German  city  looks  for  a 
lord  mayor,  or  an  American  college  or  church 
searches  for  a  president  or  a  minister.  The  corpo- 
ration was  offering  its  most  influential  post  to  the 
candidate  from  all  Great  Britain  best  qualified  to 
fill  it. 

Here,  too,  is  a  city  in  which  all  citizens  are 
united,  demanding  efficient  service  and  securing  it ; 
a  city  in  which  the  privileged  few  who  own  the  fran- 
chise corporations  in  America,  and  the  unprivileged 
many  who  are  seeking  a  job,  are  united  with  the 
city  rather  than  against  it.  For  Glasgow  offers  no 
franchises  whose  values  run  into  the  millions  as  a 
tempting  treasure  to  gamble  for.  There  are  no 
privileges  to  corrupt  the  Council;  no  big  financial 
interests  to  unite  the  rich  and  influential,  the  press 
and  the  bar,  the  club  and  the  church  on  one  side, 
and  leave  democracy,  untaught  and  unled,  blindly 
to  carry  on  the  burdens  of  self-government.  This 
absence  of  privilege  frees  the  best  talent  of  the  city ; 
it  unites  its  purse  with  its  patriotism.  It  is  this 
absence  of  class  interest  that  binds  and  fuses  the 
whole  people  into  one  ambition — an  honest  city,  an 
economical  city,  a  serviceable  city.  And  they  get 
it,  too.  The  city's  properties  are  worth  f  95,000,000, 
and  the  annual  revenues  from  reproductive  under- 
takings alone  exceed  f  15,000,000.    All  these  enter- 


182  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

prises  are  handled  with  the  most  scrupulous  hon- 
esty. None  of  their  earnings  sticks  in  the  hands 
of  contractors,  aldermen,  or  clerks  on  its  way  to 
the  city  treasury.  Such  a  thing  as  official  corrup- 
tion is  almost  unknown. 

A  city  with  such  a  citizenship  would  have  gotten 
good  government  under  any  charter.  So  it  was  not 
the  form  of  government  that  explained  it  all,  al- 
though the  method  of  choosing  the  Council  makes  it 
very  easy  to  secure  good  men.  Nor  is  it  home  rule. 
For  the  British  city  is  more  dependent  upon  Par- 
liament than  the  American  city  is  upon  the  State 
Legislature.  Parliament  is  most  exacting  in  its 
control  and  supervision  of  the  city.  Special  per- 
mission has  to  be  got  at  Westminster  to  enter  any 
industry,  to  build  tram  lines,  to  lay  water  or  gas 
mains,  to  borrow  for  any  improvement.  Parliament 
determines  the  amount  which  must  be  laid  aside 
in  a  sinking  fund  for  all  undertakings.  Its  finances 
and  its  activities  are  only  determined  by  the  people 
after  Parliament  has  given  its  consent,  and  it  took 
five  years  of  unremitting  effort  to  secure  permis- 
sion to  run  the  telephones.  The  absence  of  the 
spoils  system  offers  some  explanation.  Only  it  is  a 
result,  not  a  cause,  for  there  is  no  act  of  Parliament 
making  the  merit  system  compulsory. 

The  explanation  of  Glasgow  is  deeper  down  than 
the  form  of  the  charter,  deeper  than  the  merit  sys- 


GLASGOW  183 

tern,  deeper  than  the  method  of  electing  council- 
men  by  popular  nominations — important  as  these 
things  are.  It  is  deeper  than  the  Scotch  character, 
thrifty,  prudent,  and  careful  though  it  is.  I  fancied 
it  was  the  Scotch  character,  despite  conditions  in 
Pittsburg,  the  most  thoroughly  Scotch,  as  it  is 
among  the  worst,  of  American  cities.  So  I  went  to 
Edinburgh,  the  most  beautiful  of  all  British  cities, 
as  it  is  the  centre  of  the  culture,  literature,  and  tra- 
ditions of  Scotland.  Here  one  should  find  the 
Scotchman  at  his  best.  I  went  to  the  Town  Hall. 
The  Lord  Provost  and  the  Town  Clerk  were  away. 
I  wanted  to  see  the  Council.  It  would  not  meet 
for  several  weeks.  It  seldom  met  oftener  than  once 
every  three  weeks.  I  looked  into  its  enterprises. 
"We  don't  go  in  for  such  things  as  Glasgow  does," 
said  an  official.  "We  lease  our  tramways  to  a  pri- 
vate company.  The  gas  and  water  are  in  the  hands 
of  a  parliamentary  commission.  The  members  of 
our  Council  are  too  busy  with  their  own  affairs  to 
devote  much  time  to  the  city."  Glasgow,  I  found, 
was  in  disfavour.  Its  thrift  and  enterprise  were 
undignified — almost  vulgar  in  the  minds  of  the 
Scotchmen  of  the  capital  city. 

So  I  returned  to  Glasgow,  to  the  man  on  the 
trams,  to  the  business  man  in  the  club,  to  the  trades- 
man in  his  shop.  For  I  had  come  to  believe  that  it 
is  the  people  who  make  the  official,  that  it  is  they 
who  control  the  administration.    We  have  seen  that 


184  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

fact  in  Cleveland,  where  the  people  have  achieved 
efficient  government;  we  have  seen  it  in  Chicago, 
where,  if  the  people  have  not  good  government,  they 
at  least  have  aspiring  administration;  we  have  seen 
it  in  Philadelphia — which  is  a  people  in  eruption. 

So  I  went  to  the  people  and  listened  to  their  talk 
of  Glasgow.  But  it  was  not  Glasgow  so  much  as 
it  was  the  trams,  the  gas,  the  telephones,  the  parks, 
the  bowling-greens,  the  baths,  the  concerts,  the 
splendid  sewage  works,  and  the  everlasting  rates. 
It  was  the  Alderman  So-and-so,  and  his  speech  at 
the  last  Council.  It  was  Scott  Gibson  and  his  con- 
demnation of  his  fellow  members  for  voting  a  few 
pounds  out  of  the  treasury  for  some  dinner  or  other. 
It  was  a  longer  ride  on  the  trams  for  a  cent.  For 
the  man  on  the  street  knows  about  these  things.  It 
is  this  that  keeps  him  alert.  He  is  a  good  citizen 
because  it  is  his  city;  it  gives  him  more  for  his 
money  than  anyone  else,  and  it  gives  him  many 
things. 

So  I  came  to  believe  that  the  Glaswegian  loves 
his  Glasgow,  as  his  forbears  loved  their  Highlands, 
because  Glasgow  loves  its  people. 

"We  don't  compare  our  tramways  with  Manches- 
ter or  Liverpool,"  one  of  them  said  to  me.  "We 
have  the  best  system  in  the  United  Kingdom."  I 
think  that  is  true.  I  have  ridden  on  most  of  them, 
and  the  Glasgow  system  seems  to  me  the  best  of 


GLASGOW  185 

them  all.  The  service  is  as  frequent  as  could  be 
asked,  and  you  get  a  seat  for  a  fare.  You  get  it 
on  top  of  the  cars  if  you  want  a  smoke,  and  the  cars 
go  everywhere.  They  are  cleaned  and  disinfected 
every  night;  they  are  bright  as  fresh  paint  can  keep 
them;  they  have  no  advertisements  on  them;  they 
are  easy-riding,  and  are  laid  on  concrete  founda- 
tions with  grooved  rails,  which  offer  no  obstruction 
to  other  traffic.  The  conductors  are  courteous — 
they  have  to  be.  They  have  1,000,000  critics,  all 
watching  them. 

I  went  again  to  see  Mr.  James  Dalrymple,  the 
general  manager  of  the  street  railway  system.  He 
had  been  recently  promoted  to  the  position  from 
that  of  head  bookkeeper.  The  chief,  Mr.  James 
Young,  had  resigned,  and  his  first  and  second 
assistants  had  been  called  to  other  towns.  The 
managers  of  the  British  tramways  are  not  often 
engineers.  They  are  business  men,  whose  duties 
are  those  of  administration.  They  are  not  electri- 
cal experts.  Mr.  Dalrymple  had  just  returned  from 
America,  where  he  had  gone  in  response  to  a  request 
from  Mayor  Dunne  of  Chicago.  He  did  not  tell  me 
his  impressions  of  America,  or  express  an  opinion 
of  our  ability  to  manage  municipal  enterprises.  He 
did  say  that  he  had  made  a  study  of  the  street  rail- 
way systems  in  America,  and  had  been  entertained 
by  their  managers  in  all  of  the  leading  cities.  And 
their  opinion  of  municipal  ownership  and  American 


18G  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

politics  we  all  know.  But  Mr.  Dalrymple  is  a 
Scotchman.  He  could  not  be  that  and  not  be  con- 
vinced that  no  other  people  in  the  world  can  do 
what  Glasgow  has  done.  That's  Scotch  nature. 
They  feel  that  way  even  toward  England.  It's  hu- 
man nature,  too,  for  haven't  we  been  sending  men 
to  Glasgow  for  years  to  learn  how  that  city  does 
things? 

For  Glasgow  has  made  good  on  her  tramways. 
A  private  company  ran  the  system  from  1871  to 
1894.  But  the  service  was  bad,  and  the  treatment 
of  the  employees  intolerable.  The  people  protested. 
They  tried  to  regulate  the  abuses.  The  company 
was  arrogant ;  for  what  could  the  city  do  about  it? 
Then  Glasgow  awoke.  A  campaign  for  municipal 
ownership  was  started.  Two  elections  were  fought 
over  this  issue.  In  1892  the  city  decided  to  take 
over  the  operation.    This  was  done  two  years  later. 

The  private  company  predicted  failure;  said  the 
city  would  go  bankrupt.  So  they  refused  to  sell 
the  Council  their  cars,  because  they  expected  the 
system  to  come  back  to  them  in  a  short  time. 

The  first  thing  the  city  did  was  to  reduce  the 
hours  and  increase  the  wages  of  the  employees. 
Then  free  uniforms  were  added,  along  with  five 
days'  holiday  each  year  on  pay.  This  increased 
consideration  for  the  employees  now  costs  the  de- 
partment something  like  $500,000  a  year.  The 
Council  did  not  stop  here.    Hauls  were  lengthened, 


GLASGOW  1ST 

and  fares  cut  down  33  per  cent.  To-day,  one  may 
ride  a  half  mile  for  a  cent;  two  and  one-third  miles 
for  two  cents ;  and  three  and  a  half  miles  for  three 
cents.  For  fares  are  arranged  on  the  zone  system. 
You  pay  for  what  you  get.  The  main  thing  is,  what 
does  the  average  rider  pay?  In  1905,  it  was  1.89 
cents,  while  the  average  fare  charged  per  mile  was 
nine-tenths  of  a  cent.  Of  the  195,000,000  passen- 
gers carried,  30  per  cent,  paid  but  one  cent.,  GO 
per  cent,  but  two  cents,  and  only  10  per  cent,  of 
the  total  number  carried  paid  more  than  the  latter 
sum.  All  fares  in  excess  of  two  cents  might  be 
abolished  and  the  earnings  would  hardly  show  it. 

And  the  cost  to  the  city  for  carrying  the  average 
passenger  (not  including  interest  charges)  was  just 
under  one  cent  in  1905.  An  examination  of  the 
earnings  and  expenses  shows  that  the  Glasgow 
tramways  could  pay  all  operating  expenses,  could 
maintain  the  system,  could  pay  local  taxes  the  same 
as  a  private  company,  and  still  carry  passengers 
at  a  universal  fare  of  one  cent.  It  could  do  this 
and  make  money.  On  the  basis  of  that  year's  earn- 
ings it  would  make  about  $75,000,  even  if  there 
was  no  increase  in  traffic.  For  the  operating  ex- 
penses and  maintenance  charge  in  1905  were  $1,- 
884,150.  If  the  195,707,519  passengers  carried  had 
paid  one  cent  each,  the  earnings  would  have  been 
$  1,957,675. 

But  there  would  be  an  increase  in  traffic.    Glas- 


188  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

gow  proved  that  in  1894,  when  it  reduced  its  fares 
by  33  per  cent.  In  three  years'  time  the  number  of 
passengers  carried  doubled;  by  1905  the  number 
had  more  than  thribbled.  This  was  accompanied 
by  a  great  increase  in  the  mileage  of  the  system, 
as  well  as  the  electro-equipment  of  the  lines.  But 
all  over  England  they  say  it's  cheap  fares  and  good 
service  that  make  municipal  dividends  on  the  tram- 
ways. The  chief  complaint  in  Glasgow  is  that  the 
tramways  make  too  much  money.  The  man  who 
rides  protests  mildly  that  his  fare  should  be  still 
further  reduced,  or  the  length  of  the  ride  extended. 
During  the  first  eleven  months  after  opening  the 
system  in  1894  it  earned  as  a  horse  line,  over  and 
above  operating  expenses,  the  sum  of  $208,525. 
Since  that  time  the  growth  has  been  tremendous. 
The  system  was  opened  with  63  miles  of  track.  It 
now  has  147.  The  gross  earnings  were  $1,066,187  in 
1895.  In  1905  they  were  $3,721,854.  During  the 
same  period  the  number  of  passengers  carried  in- 
creased from  57,104,647  to  195,767,519.  The  Council 
is  almost  embarrassed  to  find  proper  means  to  dis- 
pose of  the  profits.  In  1905  the  system  paid  working 
expenses,  put  $334,036  into  maintenance  and  re- 
pairs, and  paid  $188,731  in  local  taxes.  There  still 
remained  $1,837,704  as  net  profits.  This  was  equiv- 
alent to  a  dividend  of  13.78  per  cent,  on  the  total 
capital  investment  in  the  plant,  and  21  per  cent, 
on  the  present  outstanding  indebtedness. 


GLASGOW  189 

That  is  why  the  man  on  the  tram  complains. 
He  says  the  Council  is  not  only  making  him  pay 
for  his  ride,  but  also  pay  for  the  plant,  by  charging 
twice  as  much  as  it  costs  to  carry  him.  He  thinks 
it  unfair  to  compel  this  generation  to  make  a  pres- 
ent of  the  enterprise  free  from  debt  to  the  next  one. 
He  points  to  the  fact  that  the  system  is  worth  $11,- 
965,305.  In  eleven  years'  time  the  debt  has  been 
reduced  to  $8,835,939,  while  $762,873  additional 
has  been  paid  into  the  "Common  Good,"  as  well 
as  a  like  sum  in  taxes.  At  this  rate,  the  plant  will 
be  free  from  indebtedness  in  less  than  ten  years' 
time. 

The  Council  replies  by  saying:  "Look  at  your 
fares.  They  have  been  cut  down  one-third.  Those 
who  travel  are  better  off  by  $1,000,000  a  year  than 
they  would  have  been  under  private  management. 
In  eleven  years1  time  the  savings  alone  to  the  passen- 
gers exceed  the  total  bonded  debt  now  against  the 
system."  The  enterprise  has  already  paid  for 
itself  out  of  earnings  and  savings.  It  looks  as 
though  it  had  not  only  paid  for  itself,  but 
earned  about  a  million  dollars  besides.  It  has 
also  repaid  the  cost  of  the  old  horse  lines,  as  well 
as  a  splendid  manufacturing  plant  where  all  the 
cars  and  equipment  are  built  by  the  city  by  direct 
labour. 

Such,  at  least,  are  the  figures  which  "The  Glas- 
gow Corporation  Tramways"  publish  to  the  world. 


190  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

I  asked  Mr.  Dalrymple  about  the  effect  of  munici- 
pal ownership  on  the  people.    He  said : 

"The  opening  of  the  trams  in  1894  was  coinci- 
dent with,  many  people  would  say  it  was  the  cause 
of,  the  renaissance  of  civic  enthusiasm  that  has 
characterised  the  last  ten  years  of  the  life  of  the 
city.  Undoubtedly  the  more  things  the  city  does 
for  the  people,  the  more  the  people  are  interested 
in  the  city.  Municipal  ownership  fosters  interest 
in  municipal  affairs." 

The  man  on  the  trams  is  evidently  right.  He 
owns  the  trams;  therefore  he  is  interested  in  them. 
He  owns  the  gas,  the  water,  the  electricity  supply, 
and  the  telephones.  Therefore  he  watches  them. 
He  loves  Glasgow  just  as  does  the  Lord  Provost, 
the  hard-headed  alderman,  the  man  in  the  club,  the 
caretaker  of  the  city's  sewage  works.  The  city  is 
his  parent.  It  cares  for  him.  And  it  is  worth 
working  for.  It  is  so  big  in  its  ideals,  so  big  in  its 
achievements,  so  big  in  its  kindness  and  goodness. 

The  Glaswegian  still  grumbles  a  little  in  his 
pride.  Probably  he  will  always  grumble.  That  is 
one  of  the  things  government  means  to  him.  He 
got  his  trams,  his  telephones,  his  parks,  his  concerts, 
by  grumbling.  But  his  present  trouble  is  a  bigger 
one.  He  says :  "We  extended  our  tram  lines  far 
out  into  the  suburbs;  we  had  so  many  poor,  such 
terrible  slums,  so  much  sickness,  vice,  and  misery. 
We  wanted  to  give  our  people  a  chance,  wanted 


GLASGOW  191 

to  get  them  out  of  the  tenements  and  into  the  coun- 
try, where  land  was  cheap.  We  reduced  our  fares. 
In  consequence,  earnings  fell  off.  Instead  of  mak- 
ing land  cheap  for  the  poor,  we  made  it  valuable 
for  the  landlords.  We  cut  down  commuters'  fares 
a  pound  a  year,  and  rentals  went  up  exactly  one 
pound  a  year.  We  sought  to  secure  cheap  homes 
for  our  people,  but  the  land  speculator  appropriated 
the  whole  thing." 

Then  he  did  what  he  always  does — this  Glaswe- 
gian. He  worried  the  Council,  and  the  Council  in 
turn  went  to  Parliament.  The  Council  said :  "We 
have  created  immense  fortunes  for  the  land  owners 
about  the  city.  But  not  content  with  what  he  has 
already  got,  the  landlord  wants  more,  and  sits  idly 
by  until  the  people  must  have  his  land  at  any  price." 
The  Council  introduced  a  bill  in  Parliament  to  tax 
these  land  values  and  retake  to  itself  a  portion  of 
the  millions  which  its  enterprise  had  created,  and 
which  it  is  now  fined  for  using.  It  did  more.  It 
laid  aside  $15,000  to  promote  the  bill.  Tons  of  lit- 
erature were  distributed,  and  the  city's  officials 
were  turned  into  agents  for  propaganda  work. 
When  Glasgow  wants  a  thing  it  wants  it  hard. 
Then  the  Council  called  a  conference  of  cities  on 
"The  Taxation  of  Land  Values."  More  than  five 
hundred  local  authorities  responded.  Then  they  all 
moved  on  Parliament  and  proceeded  to  worry  the 
members.    Of  course,  Parliament  wouldn't  listen. 


192  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

For  the  members  of  Parliament  own  Great  Britain. 
They  are  getting  rich  out  of  the  growth  of  the  towns. 
And  they  have  paid  no  taxes  on  their  land  as  land 
for  several  centuries  at  least.  This  is  a  fact — Eng- 
lish land  has  not  been  reappraised  for  taxation 
since  the  seventeenth  century. 

In  its  attitude  toward  Parliament,  Glasgow  re- 
minds one  of  a  terrier  barking  at  the  heels  of  a 
mastiff.  I  fancy  Parliament  must  hate  this  heck- 
ling, thrifty  municipality  that  is  forever  making 
war  on  the  abuses  and  privileges  which  everywhere 
exist  in  England,  and  which  are  so  profitable.  For 
the  members  of  Parliament  not  only  own  the  land, 
they  own  the  big  city  franchises,  just  as  the  United 
States  Senate  owns  or  represents  the  big  railroads. 
And  it  must  be  annoying,  this  nagging  against  mon- 
opoly. They  say  in  England  if  the  Glasgow  man 
doesn't  go  to  heaven  when  he  dies  he  will  make  it 
very  uncomfortable  for  the  devil.  But  that's  the 
way  he  got  his  municipal  telephone  system.  For 
five  long  years  the  city  spent  money  and  energy  try- 
ing to  induce  Parliament  to  permit  it  to  open  an 
exchange  in  competition  with  the  private  company 
which  was  giving  bad  service  and  charging  high 
rates.  It  finally  got  permission  in  1901.  By  1905 
the  system  had  twelve  thousand  subscribers  and 
covered  143  square  miles.  An  unlimited  telephone 
service  cost  $25.55  a  year,  and  a  limited  one  only 
$17.03.    The  population  served  is  about  a  million. 


GLASGOW  193 

Then  the  private  company  reduced  charges.  But 
despite  the  cheapening  of  rates,  the  exchange  made 
money,  even  in  the  face  of  the  competition  of  the 
old-established  company. 

The  telephone  was  the  last  big  enterprise  taken 
over.  The  city  has  had  the  water  supply  since 
1855.  It  bought  out  two  private  companies.  Then 
it  went  to  Loch  Katrine,  34  miles  away,  in  the  heart 
of  the  Highlands,  to  get  a  supply.  Glasgow  spent 
millions  for  pure  water,  and  now  has  one  of  the 
finest  supplies  in  the  world.  It  makes  money,  too, 
though  the  rates  for  domestic  use  are  but  ten  cents 
in  the  pound  for  rental.  This  means  that  for  every 
$100  of  house  rental  paid,  an  additional  charge  of 
$2  is  made  for  water  service. 

The  gas  supply  is  also  owned  by  the  city.  It 
was  bought  from  private  parties  in  1869.  It  is  run 
for  the  benefit  of  the  people  and  not  for  the  sake 
of  dividends.  Gas  is  sold  at  51  cents  a  thousand 
feet  for  domestic  use ;  for  power  purposes  the  price 
is  but  43  cents.  The  very  poor  are  encouraged  to 
use  gas  by  penny-in-the-slot  devices,  by  which  one 
can  get  enough  gas  with  which  to  cook  a  meal  for 
two  cents.  The  city  encourages  industry  by  low 
prices.  This  diminishes  the  smoke  nuisance.  De- 
spite the  reduction  in  price,  the  net  profits  in  1905 
amounted  to  $271,930. 

The  price  of  gas  has  been  reduced  from  year  to 
year.    It  was  78  cents  in  1885,  60  cents  in  1895. 


194  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

To-day  it  ranges  from  43  to  51  cents.  The  financial 
showing  is  almost  as  remarkable  as  the  tramways. 
While  the  capital  expenditure  is  $18,319,170,  the 
present  actual  indebtedness  is  but  $9,340,200.  The 
surplus  of  capital  expenditure,  above  the  debt 
against  the  undertaking,  is  $8,978,970.  This  is  what 
the  city  has  made  through  owning  the  plant,  in 
addition  to  the  millions  saved  by  cheaper  gas. 

The  electricity  supply  has  been  owned  since  1892. 
The  city  bought  out  a  private  monopoly  for  $75,000. 
Then  it  proceeded  to  make  the  plant  useful.  For 
that  is  the  policy  of  Glasgow,  to  make  itself  useful 
to  its  people.  It  proceeded  to  enlarge  the  system, 
to  extend  the  conduits  all  over  the  city.  It  has 
since  spent  about  $6,000,000  on  the  undertaking. 
Now  it  can  serve  everybody,  and  serving  everybody, 
can  reduce  charges.  It  also  sells  power  to  the  tram- 
way department  and  manufacturing  plants.  For 
Glasgow  tries  to  encourage  industry  just  as  it  aims 
to  promote  comfort  and  convenience.  For  very 
small  consumers,  the  rates  for  lighting  are  12  cents 
per  kilowatt  hour  and  2  cents  for  all  current  in  ex- 
cess of  a  small  minimum.  For  power  and  heating 
purposes,  the  charge  is  from  1£  cents  to  3  cents, 
according  to  the  quantity  used.  The  average  price 
received  from  all  consumers  is  5.09  cents. 

Glasgow  says  it  would  be  just  as  absurd  for  the 
owner  of  a  skyscraper  to  permit  a  private  elevator 
company  to  collect  fares  from  his  tenants,  or  for  an 


GLASGOW  195 

outside  plumber  to  own  the  fixtures  and  collect  for 
light  and  heat,  as  it  is  for  a  city  to  turn  over  its 
streets  to  private  tramways,  gas,  and  electric  light- 
ing companies.  Glasgow  prefers  to  do  its  own 
plumbing  and  run  its  own  elevators. 

These  are  the  big  things  Glasgow  does.  They 
are  the  spectacular  exhibits.  But  it  does  other 
things.  A  mere  enumeration  of  its  enterprises  makes 
a  long  catalogue.  It  runs  several  farms  upon  which 
it  uses  the  street  refuse  as  fertiliser.  It  has  brought 
them  to  a  high  state  of  fertility,  and  produces  pro- 
visions for  its  departments.  Even  from  this  source 
it  has  a  net  income  of  f  3,000  a  year.  It  has  a  won- 
derful system  of  sewage  disposal,  which  is  nearing 
completion.  The  River  Clyde  has  always  been  a 
foul-smelling  stream,  but  the  city  is  expending  mil- 
lions to  purify  it  through  the  destruction  of  its 
sewage  and  the  use  of  the  sludge  as  fertiliser.  The 
city  fire  department  has  a  big  workshop  at  the  cen- 
tral station  where  it  builds  all  of  its  own  apparatus, 
just  as  the  tramway  department  erects  its  own  cars. 
Glasgow  seems  bent  on  being  rid  of  the  private  con- 
tractor. The  alderman  smiles  when  charged  with 
socialism,  and  says  it  is  good  business  for  the  city 
to  erect  its  own  cars,  to  make  its  own  fire  apparatus, 
and  employ  its  own  men.  And  now  the  Council  is 
after  the  big  contractors  who  build  and  sewer  the 
streets.  It  recently  asked  for  tenders  for  the  con- 
struction of  a  sewer.    The  lowest  bid  received  was 


196  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

|600,000.  The  city  suspected  a  combine,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  build  the  sewer  itself,  at  a  cost  of  only 
$375,000.  Now  it  receives  estimates  from  its  own 
engineer  on  all  jobs,  and  is  rapidly  becoming  its 
own  contractor.  It  pockets  the  profits  which  for- 
merly went  to  the  middleman,  just  as  it  pockets  the 
dividends  which  formerly  went  to  the  tramway  com- 
pany. The  city  does  much  of  its  work  by  direct 
labour.  Over  this  policy  there  is  some  difference  of 
opinion,  but  those  who  advocate  it  insist  that  it  is 
more  economical  and  more  efficient  than  contract 
work. 

Thus  Glasgow  looks  after  her  people.  She  is  as 
frugal  as  a  Scotch  parent.  I  fancy  the  parable  of 
the  talents  rather  than  that  of  the  prodigal  son 
finds  most  favour  in  the  Scotch  soul.  There  is  no 
waste  here.  In  her  thriftiness,  Glasgow  takes  profit 
from  her  people.  Possibly  they  love  her  the  better 
for  her  thrift.  But  it  looks  like  usury  to  the  out- 
sider, her  enterprises  earn  so  much.  In  1905  the 
gross  profits  of  her  five  big  undertakings  were  as 
follows:  Tramways,  $1,852,855;  gas,  $718,154; 
electricity,  $543,952;  water,  $763,904;  telephones, 
$100,961.  The  total  profits  were  $3,979,826.  Of 
this,  however,  $1,398,880  was  paid  for  interest  on 
the  investment.  But  a  snug  little  sum  of  $2,580,946 
still  remained  in  excess  of  what  it  cost  the  city  to 
pay  all  charges  against  these  enterprises.1 

'Bulletin  Bureau  of  Labour,  January,  1906. 


GLASGOW  197 

FINANCIAL    RESULTS    OF    THE    OPERATION    OF    THE 

TRAMWAYS,    GAS,    ELECTRICITY,    WATER,   AND 

TELEPHONE  UNDERTAKINGS  OF  GLASGOW 

FOR  THE  \EAR  ENDING  MAY  31,  1905. 

Gross      Operating        Net        Interest        Net 
Industry,    receipts,     expenses,     receipts,  payment.       profit. 

Tramways.  $3,737,005  $1,884,150  $1,852,855  $242,868  $1,609,987 

Gas 3,894,061     3,175,907        718,154     446,224        271,930 

Electricity.        906,978        363,026        543,952     185,815        358,137 

Water 1,212,999        449,095        763,904     479,258        284,646 

Telephones.        269,733        168,772        100,961      44,715  56,246 


Total...  $10,020,776  $6,040,950  $3,979,826  $1,398,880  $2,580,946 

But  the  Council  does  not  use  these  earnings  to 
relieve  the  taxpayer,  as  is  frequently  asserted.  Not 
a  penny  of  it  goes  to  such  a  purpose.  It  is  all  re- 
turned to  the  undertaking — used  to  pay  bonds,  im- 
prove the  system,  and  reduce  the  cost  to  the  con- 
sumer.1 

2It  is  not  infrequently  asserted  that  the  city  of  Glasgow  de- 
rives so  large  a  revenue  from  the  various  industries  managed 
by  it  that  local  taxes  have  been  completely  abandoned.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  Glasgow  derives  no  such  aid  from  these 
sources  at  all,  although  the  contributions  made  to  the  Com- 
mon Good  fund  are  very  substantial.  This  fund  is  a  sort  of 
common  reservoir,  into  which  the  Town  Council  places  any 
unnecessary  earnings,  to  be  used  as  the  Council  may  deter- 
mine, but  usually  for  some  permanent  improvement.  All  of 
the  ordinary  expenditures  of  the  city  are  paid  from  the  rates, 
or  from  aids  granted  by  the  Imperial  Government.  These  aids 
are  paid  to  the  local  authorities  of  all  Great  Britain,  and 
amount  to  a  total  of  about  seventy-five  million  dollars  a  year. 

As  an  indication  of  the  expenditures  of  a  British  city,  and 
for  the  purpose  of  making  comparison  with  our  own,  the  fol- 
lowing table  is  presented.  It  was  prepared  through  the  kind- 
ness of  Mr.  John  Bowers,  the  Town  Clerk.  It  indicates  the 
sums  raised  from  taxation,  as  well  as  those  received  from  the 
Government  for  Municipal,  School  Board,  and  Poor  Relief 
purposes,  as  well  as  the  amount  per  head  for  each  of  these 
purposes.     In  a  general  way,  the  most  striking  thing  about 


198  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

The  same  thrift  characterises  little  things.  For 
Glasgow  neglects  nothing.  Her  motto  is  "Let  Glas- 
gow flourish."  Interpreted  by  the  aldermen,  this 
means  municipal  dividends.  The  city  makes  money 
on  its  slum-clearance  schemes,  upon  which  model 
dwellings  have  been  erected,  and  which  are  now 

the  exhibit  is  the  surprisingly  large  amount  collected  for  poor 
relief  and  the  relatively  small  sum  raised  for  school  purposes. 
The  population  of  Glasgow  is  approximately  800,000. 

EXPENDITURES  OP  THE  CITY  OP  GLASGOW, 
YEAR  1904-1905. 

Statement  showing  the  sum  raised  by  assessment  for  Mu- 
nicipal, School  Board,  and  Poor  Relief  purposes,  the  relative 
Government  Grants,  and  the  amount  expended  per  head  of 
population  which  each  of  these  represents,  together  with  the 
corresponding  totals  for  the  three  purposes  combined : 

Per  head  of 
Amount  Population. 

Municipal  Purposes:  £    s.    d. 

Rates (£945,189)   $4,536,907     (1     4     0.80)     $5.98 

Gov't  Grants (      85,804)        411,859     (0    2     2.22)         .53 

(£1,030,993)   $4,948,766     (1     6     3.02)     $6.51 

School  Board  Purposes:  £    s.    d. 

Rates (£224,270)   $1,076,496     (0     5     8.53)     $1.37 

Gov't  Grants (    195,897)        940,305     (0     4  11.85)       1.19 

(£420,167)   $2,016,801     (0  10     8.38)     $2.56 

Poor  Relief  Purposes:  £    s.   d. 

Rates    (  £  269,743 )   $1,294,486     ( 0     6  10.42 )     $1.65 

Gov't  Grants (      33,917)        162,803     (0     0  10.37)         .20 

(£303,660)   $1,457,289     (0     7     8.79)     $1.85 

Aggregate:  £    s.   d. 

Rates    (£1,439,202)   $6,907,889     (1  16     7.75)     $9.01 

Gov't  Grants (    315,618)     1,514,967     (0     8     0.44)       1.92 

(£1,754,820)   $8,422,856      (2     4     8.19)   $10.93 


GLASGOW  199 

paying  their  way  in  rentals  at  a  rate  which  in  time 
will  leave  them  free  from  debt.  Glasgow  undertook 
this  project  back  in  1866.  It  cost  a  lot  of  money, 
but  it  checked  disease  and  brought  down  the  death- 
rate.  The  undertaking  showed  a  deficit  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  but  is  now  justifying  itself  financially 
as  well  as  otherwise. 

But  Glasgow  has  few  deficits.  A  Council  com- 
mittee hates  a  shortage  in  an  undertaking  just  as 
a  proud  banker  suffers  from  a  bad  loan.  Some 
years  ago  the  city  conceived  the  idea  of  Saturday 
afternoon  concerts  in  the  public  halls.  At  first  they 
were  of  a  rather  frivolous  sort.  They  now  offer 
the  best  of  entertainments,  and  during  the  winter 
months  fine  oratorios  and  splendid  choral  work  is 
presented  to  weekly  audiences  of  30,000  people.  The 
admission  fee  is  but  two  cents,  but  even  this  pays. 
Not  much,  it  is  true,  for  profit  is  not  the  object; 
but  the  joy  of  it  all  is  heightened  by  the  fact  that 
it  pays  its  way.  Even  the  sewage  collected  at  the 
sewage  disposal  works  realises  a  handsome  sum, 
when  sold  as  a  fertiliser,  as  does  the  cleansing  de- 
partment, which  has  the  care  of  the  streets. 

The  city  scorns  not  the  pennies  of  the  labouring 
man  who  halts  in  the  evening  for  a  game  of  bowls 
on  the  municipal  greens.  It  gathers  in  the  coppers 
from  the  millions  who  frequent  the  twelve  public 
bath-houses  which  have  been  erected  in  various 
parts  of  the  city,  as  well  as  the  pennies  of  the  poor 


200  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

who  make  use  of  the  public  laundries  which  are  con- 
nected with  them.  We  are  going  in  for  such  things 
all  over  America,  but  I  doubt  if  any  of  our  cities 
even  attempt  to  make  them  pay. 

But  it  is  not  unlovely — this  thrift.  It  is  probably 
the  height  of  wisdom.  A  people  values  that  which 
costs  them  effort.  They  value  the  lodging-houses 
provided  for  men  and  women  alike,  where  a  bed 
can  be  had  for  a  few  cents.  They  value  the  widow- 
er's home,  where  the  working  man  with  children 
can  leave  his  infants  under  proper  care.  And  they 
value  all  the  more  the  baths,  the  concerts,  the  game 
of  bowls  on  the  green,  because  they  have  paid  their 
full  worth,  and  paid  it  to  themselves.  And  during 
the  long  winter  months  the  Council  invites  the  peo- 
ple to  lectures  in  its  own  halls,  of  which  there  are 
thirteen,  where  it  tells  them  all  about  these  things. 
These  lectures  are  free  to  all,  and  the  chairmen  of 
the  committees  and  the  managers  of  the  undertak- 
ings go  all  over  the  city  discussing  such  subjects 
as  "The  Health  of  the  Community,"  "The  Corpora- 
tion Tramways,"  "The  Glasgow  Police  Force,"  and 
"The  Public  Parks."  No  wonder  the  man  on  the 
trams  was  wise — wiser  even  than  the  average  Amer- 
ican alderman.  He  had  been  taken  into  the  con- 
fidence of  his  city.  It  is  this  reciprocal  relationship 
that  accounts  for  Glasgow's  fine  citizenship.  The 
city  cares  for  the  people,  and  the  people  in  turn 
are  jealous  for  the  city.    There  is  a  fine  fraternal 


GLASGOW  201 

sense  even  though  the  debit  account  is  so  scrupu- 
lously watched. 

But  Glasgow  has  its  benevolences.  It  provides 
generously  for  public  concerts  in  the  parks;  it 
has  acquired  some  fine  halls  for  public  use;  it 
has  a  splendid  municipal  art  collection,  housed 
in  a  fine  gallery.  Its  parks  and  playgrounds 
are  extensive.  They  are  beautifully  main- 
tained, and  are  open  to  the  widest  use.  Its  public 
library  is  comparable  to  those  of  many  cities  in 
America. 

The  city  has  its  little  extravagances,  too.  They 
are  part  of  the  show.  For  the  British  city  delights 
in  the  spectacular.  That  is  one  of  the  things  the 
Lord  Mayor  is  for — to  be  the  city's  host,  and  foot 
its  entertainment  bills.  It  seems  like  an  anti-climax 
to  a  long  and  distinguished  aldermanic  career  to 
be  offered  the  privilege  of  expending  from  five  to 
twenty  thousand  dollars  a  year  for  the  maintenance 
of  the  city's  dignity  and  the  entertainment  of  its 
guests.  Yet  this  is  a  privilege  to  which  the  best 
of  Britain's  business  men  aspire.  And  Glasgow  has 
many  little  flings  at  the  expense  of  the  treasury. 
The  aldermen  go  on  trips  to  England  and  the  Con- 
tinent in  the  study  of  other  cities.  Every  fortnight 
or  so  one  of  the  departments  has  an  inspection, 
which  is  its  annual  show.  This  is  followed  by  a 
luncheon  at  the  Town  Hall.  A  hundred  or  more 
of  the  city's  officials,  with  their  guests,  sit  down  to 


202  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

a  dinner  in  the  Council  Chamber,  and  hear  about 
the  committee's  achievements. 

I  attended  one  of  these  inspections.  We  drove 
over  the  city  and  returned  to  the  Town  Hall  to 
luncheon.  There  was  all  the  orderliness  of  a  state 
dinner;  the  rank  and  station  of  each  man  was  as- 
signed. There  were  speeches,  vastly  more  inter- 
esting than  those  of  an  ordinary  dinner,  for  they 
all  talked  Glasgow.  Not  as  an  American  city  might 
talk  to  a  river  and  harbor  committee  from  Congress 
from  whom  it  hoped  for  a  generous  appropriation ; 
it  was  not  business,  tonnage,  bank  clearances.  These 
men  were  too  big  with  Glasgow  to  talk  about  pri- 
vate business.  It  was  rather  the  sort  of  thing  that 
college  men  do  at  a  fraternity  banquet. 

The  motive  of  it  all?  "Men  like  to  be  in  the 
midst  of  big  things.  They  like  to  serve  the  com- 
munity that  serves  them,"  said  Dr.  Kobert  Craw- 
ford, one  of  the  city's  most  distinguished  citizens, 
a  man  who  had  served  with  distinction  on  the  Coun- 
cil, and  had  promoted  its  big  health  and  clearance 
schemes. 

"It's  a  sense  of  noblesse  oblige"  said  Lord  Pro- 
vost Primrose,  "an  ambition  to  make  the  city  a 
cleaner,  healthier,  happier,  more  comfortable  place 
in  which  to  live." 

"It's  my  city,"  says  the  man  on  the  tram. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
LONDON:  A  MUNICIPAL  DEMOCRACY 

London  is  not  a  city.  It  is  a  score  of  cities. 
Everybody  speaks  of  it  as  a  city,  but  nobody  really 
thinks  of  it  as  one.  Men  think  only  of  what  Lon- 
don means  to  them.  It  means  Mayfair,  Belgravia, 
Westminster,  the  City  about  the  Bank,  or  White- 
chapel.  London  is  a  place — a  place  where  the 
world-wide  empire  of  Great  Britain  and,  in  a  sense, 
all  mankind,  converge.  It  is  a  place,  too,  where 
all  the  world  comes.  Men  live  in  closer  association 
here  than  anywhere  else  in  the  world.  But  still 
London  is  not  a  city.  It  is  not  a  city  in  the  eyes  of 
the  law.  It  is  a  county.  And  its  governing  body 
is  called  a  County  Council. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  know  how  this  area  of  one 
hundred  and  eighteen  square  miles  called  Lon- 
don is  governed.  I  suppose  there  are  some  men 
who  do  know,  but  they  must  be  very  few.  A  man 
of  ordinary  intelligence  can  comprehend  the  char- 
ter of  an  American  city  in  a  few  hours'  time  at 
most ;  but  to  understand  the  government  of  London 
is  to  understand  the  history  of  London  and  the  acts 
of  Parliament  for  centuries  at  least.    The  munici- 


204  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

pal  code  of  an  American  city  seldom  exceeds  a  few 
printed  pages.  The  model  code  proposed  by  the 
National  Municipal  League  for  adoption  by  the 
legislatures  of  the  States  contains  in  all  but  twenty- 
five  printed  pages.  The  charter  of  London,  how- 
ever, with  all  of  its  political  agencies,  would  fill 
a  large  volume,  and  the  laws  are  all  so  interrelated 
and  builded  upon  the  past,  that  no  one,  save  an 
antiquary,  ever  could  know  all  about  them.  For 
London  never  has  had  a  definitely  co-ordinated  sys- 
tem of  government  struck  off  at  one  sitting  of  Par- 
liament. At  no  time  has  Parliament  been  willing 
to  take  up  the  administration  of  the  metropolis 
in  the  way  the  Legislature  of  New  York  did  that 
of  Manhattan  Island  when  it  adopted  her  recent 
charter.  The  British  mind  hates  any  violent  de- 
parture from  the  past.  It  fears  to  begin  anew. 
It  has  an  instinctive  terror  of  any  big  change.  If 
all  the  laws  from  the  time  of  the  first  political 
organisation  of  the  Dutch  in  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury, down  to  the  last  act  of  the  Albany  Legislature, 
were  preserved  as  the  charter  of  New  York,  we 
should  have  some  idea  of  the  governmental  machin- 
ery of  the  metropolis  of  the  United  Kingdom. 

This  is  why  few  people  really  know  how  London 
is  governed;  what  are  the  powers  of  the  various 
political  bodies;  just  where  Parliament  and  the 
County  Council  begin  and  the  boroughs,  boards, 
commissions,  and  Poor  Law  agencies  end. 


LONDON  205 

A  real  attempt  was  made  to  evolve  order  out  of 
chaos  in  1888,  when  the  London  County  Council 
was  formed.  But  Parliament  halted  before  it  had 
gone  very  far.  It  took  fright  at  the  idea  of  creating 
a  little  democracy  in  the  heart  of  the  Empire.  And 
it  had  been  better  for  Parliament  had  it  left  things 
as  they  were.  For  the  London  County  Council  has 
been  the  terror  of  the  age-long  privileges  of  the 
landlords  and  franchise  owners  of  the  metropolis 
ever  since  it  came  into  existence.  Parliament  made 
still  further  concessions  to  necessity  in  1899,  when 
it  swept  away  a  multitude  of  parishes,  and  created 
twenty-seven  metropolitan  boroughs,  with  Councils 
and  mayors,  like  any  other  city.  These  little  cities 
within  the  metropolis  administer  the  public  health 
acts;  they  have  supervision  of  the  highways,  assess 
and  collect  the  local  rates,  and  have  power  to  deal 
with  the  housing  and  other  local  questions.  But 
it  is  the  County  Council  which  is  the  most  import- 
ant political  agency  in  the  metropolis.  Its  powers 
were  not  very  extensive  at  first.  Even  now  they 
seem  insignificant  in  comparison  with  those  of  our 
own  cities.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  all  of  the  Councils, 
boards,  and  other  local  agencies,  are  so  cramped, 
cabined,  and  confined  by  Parliament  that  their  com- 
bined powers  do  not  equal  those  of  the  average 
American  city,  limited  as  it  is  in  its  powers. 

The  County  Council  has  control  of  the  main  sew- 
ers and  drainage;  the  protection  of  the  community 


^06  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

from  fires;  the  building  and  maintenance  of 
bridges  and  ferries;  the  control  of  the  means  of 
transit  on  the  streets;  the  street  improvements 
and  lighting;  asylums;  housing;  parks  and  open 
spaces.  It  administers  the  building  laws,  removes 
refuse,  regulates  nuisances  and  infectious  dis- 
eases. It  inspects  dairies,  factories,  workshops, 
and  unsanitary  houses.  It  licenses  slaughter- 
houses, and  offensive  businesses.  It  maintains  re- 
formatories and  industrial  schools.  It  has  con- 
siderable power  in  matters  of  the  public  health 
and  the  supervision  of  the  metropolitan  boroughs 
in  the  administration  of  their  functions.  It  has 
large  control  over  education,  and  serves  as  the 
Education  Board  of  the  metropolis,  and  enjoys 
many  lesser  powers.  It  is  the  County  Council 
that  is  making  of  London  a  city. 

The  Council  commands  the  best  talent  in  the 
kingdom,  and  it  is  one  of  the  most  democratic  bod- 
ies in  the  world.  It  is,  in  fact,  a  city  republic,  and 
as  its  industrial  powers  are  increased  it  is  likely  to 
become  one  of  the  greatest  agencies  of  radicalism 
in  the  civilised  world.  The  Council  came  into  exist- 
ence through  the  inefficiency,  if  not  the  corruption, 
of  the  old  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works,  which  had 
been  created  in  1855  to  satisfy  the  necessity  of  some 
central  body  for  all  of  London.  For  up  to  that 
time  the  metropolitan  area  was  governed  by  over 
three  hundred  parochial  boards  composed  of  about 


LONDON  207 

10,000  members.  These  boards  were  ancient  church 
parishes,  governed  by  hundreds  of  private  and  spe- 
cial acts  which  were  unknown  and  inaccessible  to 
anyone  save  the  officials  themselves.  The  methods 
of  election  to  office  varied  from  one  street  to  an- 
other. Even  the  powers  were  not  the  same.  The 
members  of  these  bodies  were  elected  at  a  town 
meeting,  usually  so  held  that  only  those  persons 
interested  in  the  election  could  be  present.  There 
was  no  secret  balloting — only  a  showing  of  hands. 
Up  to  1855  London  was  really  governed  by  political 
inertia.  It  was  much  as  though  Greater  New  York 
had  no  other  authority  than  hundreds  of  ward  or 
precinct  meetings,  at  which  only  those  were  present 
who  were  candidates  for  office,  We  can  imagine 
the  result  of  such  a  condition.  It  was  not  until 
1899  that  these  vestries  or  parishes  were  abolished 
and  twenty-seven  Borough  Councils  were  erected 
in  their  stead.  These  now  exist  alongside  of  the 
County  Council,  and  maintain  a  very  vigorous  life. 
In  addition  to  the  County  Council  and  the  Bor- 
ough Councils  there  remains  the  City  of  London 
proper.  It  is  a  political  anachronism,  an  historical 
survival.  It  is  a  mediaeval  city  with  a  royal  char- 
ter. Parliament  has  carefully  respected  its  ancient 
privileges.  It  is  a  tremendously  rich  corporation. 
It  owns  lands  and  plate  and  other  forms  of  wealth. 
It  has  a  population  of  26,923  by  night,  and  hundreds 
of  thousands  by  day.    It  is  the  most  unique  munici- 


208  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

pality  in  the  world.  Its  Lord  Mayor  is  a  petty 
king;  he  lives  in  the  Mansion  House,  just  opposite 
the  Bank  of  England.  The  city  has  power  to  re- 
make its  own  constitution.  It  is  known  as  "The 
Mayor  and  Commonalty  and  Citizens  of  the  City  of 
London."  There  are  twenty-five  aldermen  and  206 
common  councilmen.  The  latter  are  elected  by  the 
rate-payers  of  the  city. 

The  corporation  spends  much  money  in  feasting, 
in  extravagant  display,  and  in  charity,  but  remains 
the  most  reactionary  influence  in  all  London.  It 
is  as  though  the  region  about  Wall  Street  were  a 
separate  corporation,  distinct  from  Greater  New 
York,  and  governed  by  the  banks,  insurance  com- 
panies, the  brokers,  and  big  business  interests  of 
the  metropolis.  The  City  of  Westminster  is  also 
a  city  within  the  corporate  limits  of  the  County 
Council.  It  lies  about  the  Houses  of  Parliament 
and  Trafalgar  Square,  and  is  only  less  ancient  than 
the  City  of  London  proper. 

But  the  chaos  of  municipal  administration  does 
not  end  with  these  agencies.  The  police  department 
is  administered  by  Parliament  directly  through  the 
Home  Office.  The  water  supply  of  London  is  in  the 
hands  of  the  London  Water  Board  of  sixty-six  mem- 
bers, while  the  docks  on  the  river  and  the  Poor  Law 
schools  are  administered  by  the  Thames  Conserv- 
ancy Board  and  the  Lea  Conservancy  Board.  In 
addition  to  these  are  the  thirty-one  Boards  of  Guar- 


LONDON  209 

dians  who  have  control  of  the  Poor  Law  adminis- 
tration. There  is  also  the  Metropolitan  Asylum 
Board,  which  has  charge  of  charity  administration. 

All  these  agencies  are  more  or  less  at  war.  Their 
functions  conflict  and  overlap  so  that  a  united  pol- 
icy such  as  is  possible  in  Berlin,  Paris,  or  New 
York,  is  out  of  the  question.  All  these  agencies 
combined  expend  about  |75,000,000  a  year.  This 
seems  a  pretty  large  sum  for  a  city.  It  is  larger 
than  many  a  national  budget.  Greater  New  York 
expends  $108,000,000  each  year.  But  the  compari- 
son is  of  little  value,  for  the  cities  do  very  different 
things. 

It  is  the  London  County  Council  that  inspires  the 
affection  of  the  Londoner.  There  are  some  men 
who  are  beginning  to  love  London.  Not  as  Lamb, 
Johnson,  and  Goldsmith  loved  London,  not  as  the 
world  which  gathers  there  loves  it,  but  as  the  burgh- 
ers of  the  free  cities  of  old  Germany,  or  the  peo- 
ple of  Florence,  in  the  days  of  her  greatness,  loved 
their  cities.  For  the  London  County  Council  is 
beginning  to  care  for  its  people  just  as  the  old 
boards  and  the  vestries  cared  for  the  privileged 
interests.  And  that  is  really  the  test  of  a  city. 
What  does  it  do  for  its  people?  Eor  there  is  some- 
thing reciprocal  about  politics,  especially  city  poli- 
tics. Here  in  America  we  are  beginning  to  see 
that  a  city  which  does  little  for  the  citizen  gets 
little  from  the  citizen.    The  fraternal  sense  is  very 


210       '  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

much  wider  than  a  secret  society.  It  is  universal, 
and  good  government  is  in  direct  relation  to  its 
existence. 

Since  its  creation  in  1888  the  Council  has  been 
engaged  in  one  long  fight  with  privilege,  with  the 
privilege  of  the  landlords,  of  the  water,  gas,  electric- 
ity and  transportation  corporations,  with  the  old 
school  boards,  the  contractors,  and  all  the  reaction- 
ary influences  that  had  enjoyed  centuries  of  undis- 
turbed control  of  London.  They  were  not  unlike 
the  big  business  interests  in  control  of  the  American 
city.  They  looked  upon  the  government  as  their 
government,  as  an  agency  to  watch  over  and  protect 
their  privileges.  That  government  was  a  thing  for 
the  people  to  use,  or  that  it  had  any  business  med- 
dling with  their  abuses,  was  as  foreign  to  their 
thought  as  are  the  demands  of  the  peasants  to  the 
traditions  of  the  grand  dukes  of  Russia. 

But  the  County  Council  thought  otherwise.  It 
came  up  from  the  people,  and  it  felt  their  needs  and 
responded  to  their  pulse-beats.  It  is  a  big  body, 
is  the  Council.  It  contains  118  men.  Two  coun- 
cilmen  are  elected  from  each  parliamentary  dis- 
trict, with  four  from  the  City  of  London  proper. 
In  addition  to  this,  there  are  nineteen  aldermen, 
distinguished  citizens,  elected  by  the  Council  itself. 
The  aldermen  serve  for  six  years,,  the  members  of 
the  Council  for  three  years.  There  is  no  lord 
mayor,  not  even  a  titular  mayor.  The  Council  elects 


LONDON  211 

a  chairman,  who  may  be  a  peer,  as  was  Lord  llose- 
bery,  or  a  business  man  who  has  fought  his  way  up 
to  eminence  through  his  service  on  the  Council. 
All  business  is  transacted  through  committees, 
which  are  the  executive  heads  of  the  city. 

The  Council  knows  no  politics — at  least  its  poli- 
tics bears  no  national  names.  But  there  is  plenty 
of  politics  in  every  election,  and  the  party  names 
are  those  of  Moderates  and  Progressives.  The  for- 
mer party  is  conservative,  and  tenacious  of  the  past ; 
the  latter  is  radical,  and  looks  to  the  future.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  the  line  of  division  is  one  that  we 
know  in  America.  It  is  an  economic  one.  The 
Moderates  are  identified  with  the  landlords,  the 
franchise  owners,  and  big  business  interests.  The3T 
are  Tories,  in  fact,  while  the  Progressives  are  Lib- 
erals, or  more  often  Radicals  or  Socialists.  The 
Progressives  have  enjoyed  almost  uninterrupted 
control  of  the  Council  since  its  organisation.  It  is 
they  who  have  made  a  democracy  of  London.  For 
this  is  the  ideal  toward  which  its  members  are 
working.  And  men  like  John  Burns,  who  has  been 
with  the  Council  from  its  beginning;  like  Sidney 
Webb,  the  leading  English  Socialist ;  like  Sir  Fred- 
eric Harrison,  are  conscious  of  the  terrible  cost  of 
modern  civilisation,  and  see  in  the  city  a  means 
for  its  correction. 

It  is  about  the  big  social  questions  that  the  con- 
tests of  the  Council  centre.     There  has  come  over 


212  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

the  Englishmen  of  the  younger  generation  an  en- 
thusiasm for  ideals  that  is  strangely  absent  in  Par- 
liament. And  members  of  the  bar,  members  of  the 
profession  of  medicine,  retired  gentlemen,  and  peers 
of  the  realm,  have  entered  the  hustings  along  with 
labouring  men  and  Socialists  over  questions  that 
are  very  disturbing  to  the  old  school  of  English- 
men. The  council  election,  in  1904,  was  a  signal 
victory  for  the  Progressives,  the  Radicals,  and  the 
municipal  Socialists.  Their  programme  included 
the  clearing  away  of  disease-breeding  slums  and  the 
erection  of  fine  model  dwellings  owned  by  the  Coun- 
cil and  rented  to  the  occupants  at  a  reasonable 
charge.  This  is  the  Council's  housing  policy.  It 
includes  the  ownership  and  operation  of  the  tram- 
ways and  their  extension  into  a  splendid  system,  as 
well  as  a  new  municipal  steamboat  service  on  the 
Thames.  This  is  its  transportation  programme. 
The  taxation  of  land  values  is  the  next  step  in  the 
Council's  policy.  The  improvement  of  the  port  of 
London,  the  municipalisation  of  the  water  supply, 
the  widening  of  many  thoroughfares,  the  comple- 
tion of  a  main  drainage  scheme,  the  opening  up  of 
small  parks  and  open  spaces,  the  promotion  of  tem- 
perance and  of  education,  the  betterment  of  the 
condition  of  municipal  employees,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  Works  Department,  for  the  doing  of 
all  public  work  without  the  intervention  of  the 
contractor,  are  some  of  the  other  things  the  Council 


LONDON  213 

is  doing,  i  t  is  upon  these  issues  that  the  rate-payers 
of  London  divide  at  an  election.  And  when  it  is 
considered  that  the  laws  are  so  adjusted  that  local 
taxes  are  paid  by  the  tenant,  and,  in  consequence, 
that  those  who  vote  are  conscious  of  their  burdens, 
it  is  a  significant  evidence  of  the  changing  social 
order  that  the  Radicals  have  been  able  to  remain 
in  power  for  so  long.1 

aIn  the  triennal  election  of  March,  1907,  the  Progressives 
were  badly  defeated,  after  eighteen  years  of  nearly  uninter- 
rupted control  of  the  Council.  The  result  was  not  surprising, 
for  the  new  Education  Act  of  1903  had  thrown  the  school 
administration  upon  the  Council.  It  involved  a  heavy  increase 
in  the  rates,  for  prior  to  that  time  the  educational  budget  had 
not  been  heavy  and  had  been  borne  by  other  authorities.  But 
while  the  average  rates  of  the  County  Council  for  the  previous 
fifteen  years  had  been  but  14.2  pence  in  the  pound,  they  were 
increased  by  the  necessities  of  education  to  34.76  pence  in  the 
pound.  This  was  a  burden  which  no  party  could  carry,  no 
matter  how  honest  and  efficient  its  administration  might  have 
been.  For  under  the  British  system  of  levying  the  rates  upon 
the  tenant  only  and  of  exempting  land  as  such  from  direct 
taxation,  the  tax  rate  becomes  the  topic  of  absorbing  interest 
in  any  campaign.  The  Moderates  made  use  of  this  increase 
to  discredit  their  adversaries  and  ascribed  it  to  municipal  so- 
cialism. Some  of  it  was  due  to  housing,  health,  parking,  and 
similar  schemes,  and  a  deficit  of  $200,000  a  year  existed  from 
the  Thames  Steamboat  service.  But  this  had  been  true  of  all 
previous  Councils.  Almost  all  of  the  increase  since  1903  was 
due  to  the  Education  Act  and  not  to  the  trading  enterprises, 
for  the  County  Council  owns  no  undertakings  save  the  trams 
and  the  steamboats.  The  water  supply  is  in  the  hands  of  the 
Water  Board  and  such  electric  lighting  plants  as  are  not  in 
private  hands  are  owned  by  the  borough  councils.  This  elec- 
tion demonstrates  how  the  system  of  local  taxation  controls 
the  politics  and  the  policies  of  the  British  cities.  It  indicates 
the  ultimate  brake  which  Parliament  has  upon  democracy. 
It  is  by  no  means  a  reaction  against  municipal  ownership,  as 
the  American  press  has  contended. 


214  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

In  the  beginning  the  people  treated  the  County 
Council  as  an  experiment.  They  timidly  read  the 
account  of  its  sessions  in  the  obscure  little  build- 
ing where  the  Council  meets,  on  Spring  Garden 
Street.  For  London  had  never  thought  of  itself 
as  a  city.  It  doesn't  think  so  yet.  It  takes  some 
time  for  a  people  to  forget  its  past.  And  the  three 
hundred  parishes,  with  their  anarchy  of  adminis- 
tration, are  the  only  memories  that  London  has  of 
municipal  administration.  And  it  was  very  revo- 
lutionary to  have  a  big,  busy,  meddling  Council 
upsetting  things  and  expressing  its  opinion  about 
Parliament.  To  add  to  it  all,  John  Burns  had  been 
elected  to  the  Council  from  Battersea.  John  Burns, 
the  leader  of  the  dockers'  strike,  John  Burns  the 
Socialist,  who  had  been  in  jail  for  inciting  to  riot, 
and  who  had  been  heralded  in  the  papers  as  march- 
ing on  London  with  sixty  thousand  hungry  men 
but  a  few  years  before!  Men  wondered  what  the 
world  was  coming  to.  Was  nothing  sacred?  For 
England  had  always  looked  upon  politics  as  the 
exclusive  business  of  gentlemen.  I  met  John  Burns 
in  those  days  when  the  Council  was  still  an  experi- 
ment. That  was  in  the  early  nineties.  He  talked 
about  his  dreams — the  dream  of  the  London  that 
was  to  be.  I  tramped  over  Battersea  with  him, 
where  he  lives.  Battersea  is  a  part  of  London,  and 
has  long  been  a  working  man's  parish,  for  the  wage- 
earners  are  in  control  of  its  Council.    Burns  talked 


LOXDON  215 

of  his  contests,  contests  with  the  big  interests  above 
and  the  labour  unions  who  had  elected  him,  and 
paid  him  such  a  salary  as  he  received  for  serving 
them.  His  neighbours  in  Battersea  and  the  Social- 
ists were  disappointed;  disappointed  because  he 
did  not  electrify  Parliament  and  the  Council  with 
his  turgid  eloquence  of  their  wrongs.  But  they  con- 
tinued to  believe  in  him,  continued  to  elect  him  to 
the  Council  and  to  Parliament.  And  in  later  years 
England  came  to  believe  in  this  "intellectual  com- 
bination of  a  terrier  and  a  bulldog,"  as  Burns  has 
been  termed,  just  as  London  has  come  to  believe  in 
its  Council,  and  the  radical  things  the  Council  is 
doing  and  has  done  in  the  last  twenty  years.  For 
the  dreams  which  its  early  members  dreamt  are  be- 
ing realised.  They  were  democratic  dreams  in  the 
interest  of  all  the  people.  They  justify  the  belief 
in  our  own  municipal  institutions  and  give  assur- 
ance that  the  city  is  to  be  the  chief  agency  in  the 
movement  for  better  conditions  of  life  that  seem  to 
be  agitating  the  whole  world.  For  during  the  last 
score  of  years  London  has  found  itself.  The  centu- 
ries long  chaos  of  vestry  government  is  a  thing  of 
the  past. 

The  County  Council  found  the  people  of  the  me- 
tropolis badly  housed.  It  has  undertaken  a  com- 
prehensive housing  policy.  It  cleared  slum  areas 
and  erected  model  dwellings  which  now  house  or 
will  house  100,000  people.     It  opened  up  the  parks 


216  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

to  the  widest  use  and  offered  to  its  people  recreation 
spots  in  the  form  of  small  parks.  It  found  the 
city  in  the  hands  of  the  private  contractors.  They 
combined  against  the  community  on  all  work,  and 
gave  such  service  as  suited  their  convenience.  It 
found  its  employees  underpaid  and  overworked.  It 
elevated  their  condition  by  fixing  a  standard  fair 
wage  to  be  paid.  It  began  to  do  its  own  work  with- 
out the  contractor.  This  policy  of  fair  wage  and 
direct  employment  has  since  been  extended  to  al- 
most all  the  cities  in  the  kingdom.  The  Council 
pays  the  trade  union  rate  of  wages.  It  has  short- 
ened the  hours  of  labour.  But  it  is  through  the 
direct  employment  of  labour  that  the  greatest  gain 
has  been  made.  In  order  to  carry  out  this  policy 
a  Works  Department  was  organised.  An  immense 
workshop  was  opened,  where  all  sorts  of  city  work 
is  performed.  The  city  now  has  from  3,000  to  4,000 
skilled  workmen  on  its  pay-roll.  It  builds  sewers, 
erects  its  own  model  dwellings,  fire  engine  houses, 
and  police  stations.  The  Council  itself  bids  upon 
all  work,  and  if  its  proposal  is  the  lowest  it  secures 
the  job,  as  would  any  other  contractor.  During 
six  months  in  1905  it  completed  work  to  the  value 
of  nearly  $2,000,000.  It  carried  through  the  clear- 
ance scheme  by  which  the  magnificent  new  street 
improvement  known  as  King's  Way  was  completed. 
I  visited  the  immense  workshop  of  the  department. 
It  lies  along  the  Thames,  just  opposite  the  Houses 


LONDON  217 

of  Parliament.  It  was  like  any  other  factory  in  its 
equipment.  But  it  seemed  strange  that  a  city  should 
own  such  an  enterprise,  that  it  should  do  the  thou- 
sands of  jobs  that  are  usually  done  by  contractors. 
From  this  factory  there  were  no  dividends  to  be 
made.  No  scamping  of  work  for  the  sake  of  big 
profits.  No  labour  strikes  or  industrial  wars.  For 
the  city  looks  after  its  workmen  in  a  sincere  way. 
The  only  motive  is  efficient  work,  at  as  low  a  cost 
as  possible.  For  the  manager  always  has  before 
his  eyes  the  Committee  of  the  Council  to  whom  he 
must  account.  There  is  no  loafing  in  these  shops, 
no  needless  emplo3rees,  no  gangs  about  the  outer 
offices  looking  for  a  job.  And  the  men  seemed  to 
value  their  positions.  Possibly  the  feeling  that  they 
were  working  for  the  public  may  have  added  a  newT 
dignity  to  their  labour  and  given  a  new  and  un- 
known stimulus  to  their  interest.  Whatever  the 
cause,  the  Works  Department  has  justified  itself. 
Its  cost  sheets  are  as  low  as  the  private  contrac- 
tors', and  the  work  done  is  very  much  better.  It  is 
no  longer  an  experiment,  although  the  reactionary 
influences  constantly  challenge  it  as  socialism.1 
The  Council  has  also  adopted  standing  rules  to 

'About  the  Works  Department  and  its  cost  to  the  rate-payers 
the  most  persistent,  controversy  has  waged.  The  Moderates 
challenge  its  figures  and  results,  and  allege  that  the  Pro- 
gressives, who  control  the  committee,  have  falsified  the-  ac- 
counts in  order  to  make  a  favorable  showing  for  the  depart- 
ment. The  committee's  report,  however,  shows  it  to  have  made 
a  substantial  saving  in  costs. 


218  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

be  observed  by  all  contractors  dealing  with  the  city. 
They  are  compelled  to  pay  the  trade  union  wage ;  to 
work  their  men  according  to  schedule  hours,  and 
otherwise  observe  a  decent  standard  of  living  for 
their  employees.  As  John  Burns,  who,  more  than 
anyone  else,  is  responsible  for  this  policy,  tersely 
said:  "It  is  unworthy  of  a  city  to  pay  starvation 
wages.  If  it  is  not  a  model  employer,  who  then 
can  be  expected  to  be?  If  it  buys  sweatshop-made 
goods,  the  city  becomes  a  partner,  not  a  protector, 
of  the  millions  of  poor  of  to-day,  who  are  being 
driven  to  vice,  crime,  and  the  workhouse  by  starva- 
tion wages." 

The  Council  believes  that  some  impression  can 
be  made  upon  the  poverty  of  London;  that  it  can 
lift  the  tens  of  thousands  of  men  who  are  directly 
or  indirectly  serving  the  city  to  a  standard  of  de- 
cent existence. 

These  are  some  of  the  achievements  of  radicalism. 
The  Council  has  further  sought  to  promote  better 
conditions  of  living  through  the  ownership  of  the 
means  of  transit.  Not  much  has  been  done  as  yet, 
for  London  is  still  content  with  its  'buses,  while 
the  "tuppenny  tube,"  or  underground  subway  sys- 
tem, is  chartered  by  Parliament,  and  is  in  the  hands 
of  a  private  company.  But  a  beginning  has  been 
made  by  the  County  Council.  It  secured  powers 
from  Parliament  to  own  and  operate  the  street  rail- 
ways which  were  then  in  private  hands.     It  has 


LONDON  219 

since  developed  a  comprehensive  system.  To  the 
south  of  the  Thames  forty-six  miles  of  track  have 
been  laid  which  converge  on  the  river  about  the 
heart  of  the  city.  Forty-eight  miles  are  also  owned 
to  the  north  of  the  Thames.  These  two  systems 
are  to  be  united  through  a  subway  which  has  been 
built  under  the  new  King's  Way,  which  runs  from 
Southampton  Row  to  the  Strand.  When  the  Coun- 
cil took  over  the  tramways  it  immediately  reduced 
fares.  The  average  fare  now  paid  per  passenger 
is  but  1.86  cents.  It  is  claimed  that  a  saving  of 
half  a  million  dollars  per  annum  has  been  made  to 
the  riders  through  this  reduction.  To-day,  37  per 
cent,  of  the  passengers  are  carried  at  one-cent  fare, 
while  48  per  cent,  more  pay  but  two  cents.  The 
system  is  splendidly  constructed,  and  earns  a  con- 
siderable sum  of  money  for  the  relief  of  the  rate- 
payers. But  the  main  purpose  is  convenience,  bet- 
ter service,  clean  and  more  attractive  cars,  and  such 
relief  as  can  be  offered  the  poor  through  cheap 
transit. 

The  Council  also  found  the  railway  employees 
underpaid.  It  added  nearly  f  200,000  a  year  to  their 
income.  Wages  were  increased,  the  hours  of  labour 
were  shortened,  and  free  uniforms  were  supplied  to 
the  motormen.  I  tramped  over  the  system  with 
John  Burns.  He  was  conversant  with  every  detail 
of  the  enterprise.  And  he  saw  the  deeper  signifi- 
cance of  municipal  ownership,  a  significance  which 


220  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

Glasgow  seems  to  teach,  and  which  is  the  para- 
mount motive  for  taking  the  franchise  corporation 
out  of  private  hands.  "Municipal  ownership,"  he 
said,  "is  mainly  responsible  for  the  civic  renais- 
sance that  is  so  marked  a  feature  of  English  local 
government  in  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years.  There 
is  one  way  to  kill  graft,  and  that  is  to  absorb  within 
the  sphere  of  municipal  ownership  these  public 
franchises  that  are  a  fruitful  source  of  jobbery  and 
robbery.  Just  so  long  as  public  franchises  are 
granted  to  private  monopolists,  the  temptation  to 
graft  will  always  exist.  There  is  no  incentive  to 
making  money  out  of  a  franchise  when  the  public 
itself  owns  the  public  utility.  Municipalise  mon- 
opoly, and  grafting  ceases,  because  grafting 
comes  in  when  monopolist  'A'  says  to  politician 
'B,'  'You  fool  the  city  to  sell  what  it  can  bet- 
ter operate  itself,  and  you  will  have  a  share  of  the 
swag.' " 

The  Council  has  also  inaugurated  a  municipal 
steamboat  line  on  the  Thames.  It  put  on  a  splendid 
service,  and  runs  the  boats  in  connection  with  the 
tramways.  The  system  does  not  pay  in  dividends; 
as  a  matter  of  fact  it  does  not  pay  its  cost;  but  it 
renders  a  public  service.  It  forced  Parliament 
to  municipalise  the  water  supply,  and  within  recent 
years  fourteen  of  the  newly  created  Borough  Coun- 
cils have  taken  over  the  electricity  supply.  The 
Council  is  agitating  for  a  municipal  milk  supply, 


LONDON  221 

for  public  bakeries,  for  municipal  employment 
agencies,  and  the  serving  of  free  lunches  to  school- 
children. It  is  working  to  reduce  the  price  of  gas 
in  the  metropolis.  It  protects  its  poor  from  short 
weights  in  the  purchase  of  coal  and  other  commodi- 
ties. The  extent  to  which  inspection  is  carried 
on  by  officials  of  the  boroughs  and  County  Council 
is  amazing.  They  remove  refuse  and  garbage,  abate 
nuisances,  watch  over  the  public  health  in  a  mul- 
titude of  ways;  prevent  food  adulteration,  inspect 
and  register  dairies,  inspect  factories  and  work- 
shops, prevent  the  employment  of  minors  under 
eighteen  years  of  age  for  more  than  seventy-four 
hours  a  week.  The  County  Council  has  power  to 
prevent  overcrowding  and  unsanitary  dwelling  con- 
ditions, to  license  slaughter  houses  and  offensive 
businesses.  Its  powers  for  the  protection  of  health 
are  very  ample. 

We  are  inclined  to  look  upon  these  achievements 
of  the  English  city  as  easily  obtained.  But,  in  fact, 
the  struggle  for  self-government  in  England  has 
been  harder  than  our  own.  The  London  County 
Council  has  had  to  make  its  way  against  the  ob- 
struction of  privilege  at  every  turn.  For  years  it 
has  sought  permission  from  Parliament  to  link  up 
its  tramway  systems  through  the  use  of  the  Thames 
bridges  and  Embankment,  but  the  House  of  Lords 
always  interposed  a  veto.  Distrustful  of  democ- 
racy, the  House  of  Lords  is  even  more  fearful  of  its 


222  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

own  privileges  and  its  outlook  from  the  Terraces  of 
the  Houses  of  Parliament. 

The  same  reactionary  interests  prevented  the  mu- 
nicipalisation  of  the  water  supply  up  to  1905.  Prior 
to  that  time  it  was  in  the  hands  of  eight  private 
water  companies.  Despite  the  fact  that  portions 
of  the  city  were  inadequately  supplied,  Parliament, 
jealous  of  its  own  interests,  prevented  every  effort 
at  municipalisation.  And  when  the  system  was 
finally  taken  over,  Parliament  declined  to  trust  the 
County  Council,  but  created  in  its  stead  a  Water 
Board  of  sixty-six  members,  nominated  by  various 
local  authorities,  and  only  indirectly  responsible 
to  the  people.  And  when  the  Water  Board  came 
to  purchase  the  companies,  they  were  not  permitted 
to  acquire  them  at  their  physical  value,  but  were 
forced  to  pay  an  immense  award  covering  the  capi- 
talised value  of  the  earnings  of  the  plants.  While 
the  eight  companies  were  estimated  to  be  worth  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  $120,000,000,  Parliament  im- 
posed upon  the  community  a  method  of  valuation 
which  involved  a  payment  of  $187,372,610,  which 
sum  was  still  $58,000,000  less  than  the  companies 
claimed. 

The  English  cities  enjoy  less  home  rule  than  do 
the  cities  of  America.  They  have  to  go  to  Parlia- 
ment for  every  little  thing.  And  Parliament  is 
very  cautious  in  the  things  it  permits  the  city  to 
do.    This  is  particularly  true  of  London.    For  the 


LONDON  223 

things  the  County  Council  wants  to  do  hurt  the  big 
interests  in  control  of  Parliament.  A  great  part 
of  the  118  square  miles  upon  which  the  city  is  built 
is  owned  by  the  Dukes  of  Westminster,  of  Bedford, 
of  Portland,  and  other  parliamentary  landlords. 
They  will  not  sell  their  lands,  but  let  them  out  on 
lease.  .And  the  tenant  has  to  make  the  repairs, 
maintain  the  property,  and  pay  all  the  taxes,  too. 
Worst  of  all,  when  the  lease  expires  the  landlord 
takes  all  of  the  improvements  without  paying  for 
them.  And  the  many  activities  of  the  County  Coun- 
cil are  likely  to  injure  these  landed  gentlemen  in 
some  way  or  other.  For  they  own  the  slums  and 
the  death-breeding  tenements.  The  Council  wants 
to  clear  them  out  to  make  them  more  sanitary,  to 
open  up  streets,  and  otherwise  disturb  the  ducal 
landlords  who  are  in  control  of  Parliament.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  franchises  of  the  big  corpora- 
tions. In  consequence,  when  the  Council  comes  to 
Parliament  for  relief,  the  House  of  Lords  inter- 
poses its  veto;  or  when  the  powers  are  granted, 
the  community  is  compelled  to  pay  handsomely 
for  the  privilege  of  making  the  city  a  decent  place 
in  which  to  live. 

The  Council  has  now  entered  on  the  biggest  strug- 
gle of  all.  It  is  aiming  to  break  the  land  monopoly 
which  afflicts  London  as  it  does  all  English  cities. 
It  has  joined  an  agitation  for  the  "taxation  of  land 
values,"  which   is  the  English  equivalent  for  the 


224  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

single-tax  philosophy  of  Henry  George.  More  than 
five  hundred  cities  and  local  authorities  have  united 
in  demanding  of  their  representatives  in  Parlia- 
ment the  right  to  retake  for  local  purposes  a  portion 
of  the  unearned  increment  which  results  from  the 
city's  growth,  and  the  present  Liberal  ministry  is 
pledged  to  such  a  measure. 

Through  this  means  the  County  Council  hopes  to 
force  the  ducal  dogs  in  the  manger  to  improve  their 
lands  if  they  will  not  sell  them.  By  taxation  the 
Council  hopes  to  force  the  owners  to  tear  down  the 
shacks  and  disease-breeding  tenements,  to  let  go 
their  immense  suburban  holdings,  and  open  them 
up  to  residence  for  the  people  of  London.  To-day 
the  land  is  free  from  taxation.  By  increasing  the 
cost  of  holding  it,  the  Council  believes  it  can  force 
the  land  into  use.  Through  this  means,  too,  the 
burden  of  local  taxes,  now  paid  by  the  tenant,  will 
be  shifted  in  part  to  the  landlord,  and,  through  the 
taxing  away  of  its  speculative  value,  unused  land 
both  within  and  without  the  city  will  be  brought 
into  occupancy. 

Most  of  the  great  art  of  the  world  has  been  pro- 
duced under  the  stimulus  of  democracy  or  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  These  were  the  great  forces  that 
beautified  the  Italian  cities  during  their  age  of 
freedom  and  dotted  Europe  with  cathedrals.  And 
the  new  London  that  is  coming  into  existence  under 
the  inspiration  of  the  County  Council  is  expressing 


LONDON  225 

its  aspirations  in  a  big  artistic  way.  For  the  first 
time  in  the  city's  history,  a  comprehensive  plan  for 
the  beautification  of  the  city  has  been  worked  out. 
The  County  Council  has  dared  to  entertain  the  idea 
of  a  beautiful  London.  It  has  widened  old  streets, 
opened  up  parks,  and  erected  artistic  public  build- 
ings. Its  new  bridges  across  the  Thames  have,  for 
the  most  part,  justified  the  standard  set  by  Water- 
loo Bridge,  probably  the  finest  arch  bridge  in  the 
world.  But  its  greatest  achievement  has  been  the 
Kings  Way  improvement.  A  broad  thoroughfare 
has  been  cut  through  one  of  the  meanest  parts  of 
the  city  from  Southampton  Row  to  the  Strand.  The 
Council  has  saved  the  bits  of  ancient  architecture, 
and  so  controlled  the  new  as  to  make  them  all  con- 
form to  an  architectural  whole.  When  completed 
the  improvement  will  be  one  of  the  finest  roadways 
in  the  world.  It  has  cost  upward  of  f25,000,000. 
It  involved  the  destruction  of  many  of  the  most 
unsanitary  tenements  in  London.  To  the  east  are 
the  law  courts,  and  to  the  south,  flanking  upon 
the  Strand,  are  the  fine  old  parish  churches  of 
Christopher  Wren,  to  which  has  been  added  the 
new  Gaiety  Theatre,  to  whose  beauty  the  Council 
contributed  thousands  of  pounds.  Along  the  entire 
length  of  7,000  feet  plane-trees  have  been  planted. 
And  this  stupendous  improvement  has  been  so 
financed  that  in  sixty  years'  time  the  resale  of  the 
land  and  the  rents  of  the  property  will  return  its 


226  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

entire  cost  to  the  tax-payers.  The  roadway  has 
been  constructed  as  will  all  great  roadways  in  the 
future,  when  our  cities  own  all  of  their  utilities. 
Underneath  the  carriageway  are  subways  for  the 
street  cars.  Beneath  the  broad  pavements  on  either 
side  of  the  roadway  are  twelve-foot  conduits  for 
gas,  water,  and  electric  mains  and  wires.  Still 
farther  down  are  immense  district  sewers.  In  many 
respects  this  is  the  greatest  achievement  of  dem- 
ocracy in  London.  It  was  bold,  courageous,  and  in- 
telligent. But  best  of  all,  it  was  an  exhibition  of 
belief  in  the  city  as  an  entity,  in  municipal  work 
as  a  thing  which  should  be  planned  in  a  big,  beau- 
tiful, artistic  way. 

London  really  stands  for  a  new  idea  in  the  world. 
It  is  a  community  with  a  conscious  purpose.  Its 
purpose  is  far  more  than  the  building  of  streets 
and  sewers,  the  maintaining  of  an  efficient  police 
and  fire  department,  the  care  of  the  health  and  lives 
of  the  people.  London  is  bent  upon  lifting  its  peo- 
ple from  ignorance,  squalor,  disease,  and  poverty. 
It  has  reared  500  new  schoolhouses  under  the  new 
Public  School  Act,  which  it  fostered.  It  has  opened 
seventy  libraries.  It  has  founded  2000  educational 
scholarships.  It  has  opened  fifty  public  baths  and 
twelve  polytechnics.  There  are  now  300  beautiful 
squares,  106  Council  parks  and  breathing  places, 
twelve  royal  parks,  and  120  borough  gardens.  Lon- 
don is  said  to  be  the  greenest  large  city  in  the  world. 


LONDON  227 

The  Council  has  also  razed  many  slum  areas,  and 
is  erecting  model  homes  for  100,000  of  its  people. 
About  the  city  broad  areas  of  land  have  been  pur- 
chased on  which  cottages  are  to  be  built  for  the 
better-to-do  classes.  London  is  going  to  be  its  own 
landlord.  Not  much  has  been  done  as  yet,  it  is  true, 
but  a  big  start  on  the  housing  question  has  been 
made. 

But  the  new  democracy  is  not  satisfied  with  the 
achievements  it  has  made.  For  what  has  been 
done  is  but  the  apprentice  work.  The  County  Coun- 
cil has  only  laid  its  foundations.  It  has  spent 
twenty  years  in  justifying  industrial  democracy. 
Its  work  has  just  begun.  It  has  laid  out  a  pro- 
gramme of  city  building  in  which  human  life  and 
happiness,  rather  than  business  profits  and  divi- 
dends, will  be  the  ideal.  Democracy  has  vindicated 
itself  in  the  English  city.  It  has  found  its  fullest 
expression  in  the  London  County  Council. 


CHAPTER  XV 

THE  AMERICAN  AND  THE  BRITISH  CITY— A 
COMPARISON 

As  A  people  we  have  ever  been  sensitive  to  foreign 
critics.  We  resented  the  satire  of  Dickens  and 
Harriet  Martineau  prior  to  the  Civil  War,  as  well 
as  the  subsequent  scoldings  of  E.  L.  Godkin  and  the 
Evening  Post.  We  have  never  taken  kindly  to  the 
idea  that  we  were  not  the  greatest  people  on  the 
earth.  We  resented  the  suggestion  that  the  Fed- 
eral Constitution  was  not  the  most  sublime  political 
achievement  of  history,  an  achievement  only  short 
of  the  tables  of  stone  handed  down  from  Mount 
Sinai  to  the  people  of  Israel. 

More  recently  a  reaction  has  come  over  us.  There 
is  a  note  of  depression,  of  pessimism,  in  our  talk. 
The  condition  of  our  cities,  the  corruption  of  our 
States,  the  decadence  of  Congress,  the  ascendancy 
of  privileged  interests  in  the  Senate,  has  destroyed 
our  complacency.  From  a  condition  of  childish 
belief  in  the  talisman  of  a  democracy  we  have 
passed  in  a  few  years'  time  to  a  state  of  mind  bor- 
dering upon  despondency  before  the  colossal  task 


AMERICAN  AND  BRITISH  CITIES  229 

which  confronts  us.  A  very  large  number  of  our 
people  see  only  failure  in  our  institutions.  They 
are  oppressed  by  the  apparent  impotence  of  popular 
government  to  find  a  way  out. 

Rightly  seen,  however,  the  disclosures  of  the  past 
few  years  are  an  evidence  of  wakefulness.  The 
spirit  of  revolt  that  is  now  aroused  is  a  tribute  to 
the  vitality  of  democracy.  If  the  truth  were  fully 
known  of  other  countries,  we  should  see  that  Amer- 
ica, almost  alone  among  the  nations  of  the  earth,  is 
courageous  enough  and  rebellious  enough  to  insist 
upon  knowing  the  whole  truth  about  herself.  And 
the  one  thing  that  the  disclosures  have  shown  is 
that  democracy  in  America  is  at  war  with  a  class 
that  is  seeking  to  control  the  agencies  of  govern- 
ment for  the  sake  of  its  privileges.  But  this  is  no 
new  thing.  It  is  as  old  as  the  world.  What  is  true 
of  America  is  much  more  true  of  Great  Britain,  only 
the  mother  country  is  so  prostrate  before  the  privi- 
leged classes  in  control  of  Parliament,  the  Church, 
and  the  avenues  of  advancement,  that  no  one  ven- 
tures to  remonstrate.  Privilege  and  caste  are  so 
inwoven  with  everything  that  men  most  want  in 
Great  Britain  that  the  voice  of  criticism  has  no 
sting.  It  does  not  ring  with  ''Shame"  and  "Trea- 
son." It  is  always  respectful,  always  obeisant. 
That  country  does  not  know  the  invigorating  power 
of  a  democracy  that  is  free  in  its  spirit  and  instinct 
with  a  sense  of  equality.    And  the  privileged  classes 


230  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

have  enjoyed  such  unchallenged  dominion  for  so 
many  centuries  that  their  ascendancy  seems  sanc- 
tioned by  the  divinity  that  doth  hedge  a  king.  In 
consequence,  all  classes  accept  as  natural  that 
which  America  protests  against  as  corrupt.  Dem- 
ocracy, therefore,  in  America  is  hopeful — at  least 
it  is  rebellious.  In  Great  Britain  it  is  only  begin- 
ning to  find  its  voice. 

This  makes  the  present  an  opportune  time  to 
appraise  our  municipal  institutions.  For  all  agree 
that  the  cities  must  be  reformed  before  much  can 
be  hoped  for  from  the  commonwealths.  The  cities 
contain  an  increasing  percentage  of  the  population. 
They  have  become  the  controlling  factors  in  our 
political  life.  They  are  coming  to  dominate  the 
State  and  the  nation.  It  is  true  that  here  corrup- 
tion seems  at  its  worst.  But  it  is  also  true  that 
the  cities  are  making  the  most  aggressive  stand 
for  reform. 

For  years  the  British  city  has  been  held  up  to  us 
as  a  model.  It  is  certainly  the  chief  contribution 
of  the  United  Kingdom  to  democracy.  Glasgow, 
Birmingham,  Manchester,  are  heralded  as  the  model 
cities  of  the  world.  It  is  worth  our  while  to  know 
if  this  is  true  and  why  it  is  true.  From  their  expe- 
riences we  should  be  able  to  extract  some  plan  of 
relief  for  ourselves. 

Before  examining  the  contribution  of  the  British 
city  to  our  own  problems,  let  us  take  stock  of  our 


AMERICAN  AND  BRITISH  CITIES  231 

limitations,  of  the  burdens  under  which  we  labour. 
First  of  all,  it  is  necessary  to  remember  that  away 
from  the  seaboard  our  cities  are  new  things.  They 
are  business  centres,  industrial  accidents.  Their 
location  has  been  determined  by  natural  or  trans- 
portation advantages.  Their  bigness  is  a  matter  of 
comparatively  few  years.  In  consequence  of  this 
newness  our  officials  are  swamped  with  the  most 
elementary  municipal  needs.  Their  energy  is 
devoted  to  the  opening  up  and  the  paving  of 
streets;  to  the  building  of  sewers  and  the  develop- 
ment of  means  for  relieving  the  city  of  its  refuse. 
The  imperative  necessities  of  a  water  supply,  of 
purification  plants,  of  means  for  the  disposal  of 
garbage,  and  other  health  demands,  have  pretty 
fully  engaged  our  attention.  Schoolhouses  had  to 
be  built.  And  they  had  to  be  adequate  for  a 
rapidly  growing  population  and  satisfy  a  people 
who  were  rather  intolerant  of  basements  or  attics, 
or  bad  sanitary  conditions.  There  were  parks  to 
be  purchased  and  laid  out,  constant  additions  and 
annexations  of  new  territory  to  be  made.  These 
exacting  demands  have  crowded  out  those  phases 
of  municipal  life  that  are  spectacular,  that  delight 
the  eye.  It  is  the  beauty  and  cleanliness  of  the 
Continental  city,  quite  as  much  as  its  efficiency, 
that  makes  the  casual  American  traveller  dissatis- 
fied with  his  own. 

Further  than  this,  our  cities  are  untrained  to 


232  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

political  organisation.  We  have  no  traditions  of 
what  a  city  should  be.  There  is  not  that  love  and 
veneration  which  long  years  of  associated  life  give 
to  the  European  citizen.  In  consequence,  we  have 
no  municipal  experience,  no  social  sense,  to  fall 
back  upon.  Our  people  have  not  yet  learned  how 
to  work  together.  Added  to  this  is  a  large  foreign 
population  which,  in  the  larger  cities,  frequently 
exceeds  the  native  born.  They  came  from  all  quar- 
ters of  the  earth,  and  are  unused  to  the  Anglo-Saxon 
conception  of  things.  They  have  to  be  assimilated 
and  worked  into  our  institutions.  From  this  bur- 
den the  British  city  is  free.  Its  population  is 
homogeneous.  It  is  attached  to  the  soil,  and  has 
been  for  generations. 

These  are  some  of  the  limitations  under  which 
the  American  city  labours.  They  are  the  difficul- 
ties that  are  obvious.  There  are  other  burdens 
that  are  organic.  They  spring  from  the  powers 
of  the  city,  and  the  policy  adopted  by  the  State  or 
Parliament  in  dealing  with  franchises  and  other 
privileges.  In  America  franchises  for  the  use  of 
the  streets  are  in  the  hands  of  the  city,  to  be  dis- 
posed of  as  the  Council  wills.  In  Great  Britain 
franchises  are  bestowed  by  Parliament.  The  cities 
have  no  power  of  control  or  regulation.  This  re- 
moves the  chief  source  of  corruption  from  the 
town  hall.  It  lodges  it  at  Westminster.  There  is 
not  that  temptation  for  dishonest  men  to  enter 


AMERICAN  AND  BRITISH  CITIES  233 

the  Council  that  there  is  in  America.  There  is, 
however,  every  temptation  for  promoters  and  big 
business  men  to  enter  Parliament.  And  such  men 
make  use  of  their  positions  to  grant  franchises 
to  themselves  and  their  friends.  We  would  not 
tolerate  the  sort  of  class  legislation  that  passes 
without  protest  in  England.  For  the  railway 
and  mine  owners,  franchise  barons  and  landlords, 
apparently  see  no  harm  in  relieving  themselves 
from  taxation,  in  protecting  their  interests  from 
regulation  and  in  securing  for  themselves  monopo- 
lies that  only  escape  being  "graft"  by  the  emi- 
nently respectable  standing  of  those  who  partici- 
pate in  the  transaction. 

By  reason  of  the  removal  of  these  tempting  privi- 
leges from  the  Council  chamber  the  British  city 
has  no  such  burden  as  the  American  municipality 
labors  under.  There  are  no  franchise  hunters,  and 
comparatively  few  contractors  about  the  town  hall 
whose  interest  warrants  their  participation  in  local 
politics.  All  these  limitations  must  be  borne  in 
mind  in  any  comparison  of  the  British  city  with 
our  own. 

The  advantages  of  the  British  city  are  largely 
psychical ;  those  of  the  American  city  are  physical. 
England  excels  in  her  political  institutions  and  the 
personnel  of  her  officials.  America  excels  in  her 
economic  foundations  and  the  absence  of  a  power- 
ful class  interest  entrenched  behind  age-long  tra- 


234  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

dition  and  respectability  and  strengthened  by  great 
wealth.  The  Town  Councils  of  England  are  filled 
with  men  of  high  character,  imbued  with  a  serious 
sense  of  responsibility.  Her  best  citizens  are  wil- 
ling to  devote  their  time  to  unremunerated  service 
for  the  city.  The  Town  Council  commands  not  the 
leisure  class  so  much  as  the  successful  business 
man.  He  is  proud  to  serve  his  city,  and  his  con- 
stituents are  willing  to  keep  him  in  office  as  long  as 
he  will  stay.  His  returns  are  not  of  a  pecuniary 
sort.  For  none  of  the  elective  officials  in  Great 
Britain  are  salaried.  His  returns  are  rather  those 
of  service,  of  honour  and  respect,  from  a  people 
which  has  a  sort  of  veneration  for  officialdom. 

And  the  election  machinery  of  the  English  city 
is  admirably  designed  to  get  this  type  of  man  into 
office.  The  method  of  nomination  to  the  Council 
is  simple  in  the  extreme.  It  is  not  necessary  to 
obtain  permission  from  the  ward  boss,  who  has  his 
headquarters  over  a  saloon,  or  to  be  a  contributor 
to  the  campaign  fund  of  the  party.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  have  views  on  questions  of  imperial  moment. 
The  English  city  tries,  not  always  successfully,  it 
is  true,  but  it  tries  to  keep  partisan  questions  in 
the  background.  The  test  is  rather  the  standing 
of  a  man  with  his  neighbours,  any  ten  of  whom  can 
put  him  in  nomination  by  signing  a  petition. 

The  election  is  as  simple  as  the  nomination,  and 
is  equally  well  designed  to  bring  out  the  best  men 


AMERICAN  AND  BRITISH  CITIES  235 

in  the  city.  The  local  election  is  not  lost  in  some 
national  contest  over  protection  or  free  trade;  over 
home  rule,  or  some  colonial  policy.  The  council- 
manic  nominee  is  not  placed  at  the  tail  of  a  ticket 
containing  half  a  hundred  offices  to  be  filled.  When 
the  Englishman  goes  to  the  polls  on  November  1  he 
goes  to  a  city  election.  On  that  day  he  votes  for 
one  official  only,  the  councilman  from  his  ward. 
Even  the  mayor  is  chosen  by  the  Council,  and  not 
by  the  people  directly.  In  consequence,  the  voter 
is  able  to  keep  his  eye  fixed  upon  the  city  and  its 
welfare.  It  is  easy  to  imagine  the  change  which 
would  come  over  our  elections  if  the  voter  had  but 
one,  or  at  most  two,  officials  to  vote  for  when  he 
went  to  the  polls. 

In  the  nomination  and  election  of  councilmen,  in 
the  subordination  of  the  party  to  the  city,  in  the 
adjustment  of  the  machinery  to  simple  democracy, 
responsive  and  responsible  to  the  people,  there  is 
much  that  could  be  learned  by  us  with  profit.  Then, 
too,  the  English  city  is  free  from  corruption.  The 
Town  Councils  are  uniformly  honest.  The  cities 
have  lured  into  the  service  a  class  of  self-sacrificing 
men. 

Each  city  has  two  elective  auditors  who  an- 
nually go  over  the  books.  And  it  is  highly  enter- 
taining to  read  their  criticisms  of  official  miscon- 
duct. In  one  of  the  reports  complaint  is  made 
that  members  of  the  Council,  when  on  a  tour  of 


236  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

investigation  of  other  cities,  lived  too  well  at  the 
hotels;  that  they  were  not  content  with  medium- 
priced  champagne,  as  to  which  there  would  have 
been  no  complaint;  but  that  the  committee  always 
consumed  the  better  brands.  This,  and  much  of 
the  same  sort  of  criticism,  was  the  burden  of  the 
complaint.  But  official  entertainment  is  part  of 
the  show.  And  while  the  expenditure  for  such 
purposes  is  rather  generous,  it  is  but  part  of  the 
spectacular  in  English  life.  Karely  does  it  become 
a  matter  of  personal  profit. 

And  the  British  city  does  the  things  it  undertakes 
amazingly  well.  This  is  true  of  all  of  its  under- 
takings, of  its  police,  health,  sanitary,  lighting,  and 
similar  activities.  It  seems  to  conduct  its  purely 
business  enterprises  more  efficiently,  more  cheaply, 
in  fact,  than  do  the  private  companies.  The  street 
railways  have  been  all  but  universally  municipal- 
ised in  Great  Britain.  In  the  larger  cities  the  per- 
centage of  operating  expenses  to  gross  receipts 
ranges  from  fifty  to  seventy  per  cent.  The  cities 
have  reduced  the  rates  of  fare  from  thirty  to  fifty 
per  cent,  below  the  average  fares  charged  by  the 
private  companies  which  previously  occupied  the 
field.  In  Glasgow,  thirty  per  cent,  of  the  passen- 
gers are  now  carried  for  one  cent  fare.  On  the 
London  County  Council  lines  one  cent  fares  form 
thirty-six  per  cent,  of  the  total.  The  average  fare 
paid  per  passenger,  irrespective  of  distance,  is  1.89 


AMERICAN  AND  BRITISH  CITIES  237 

cents  in  Glasgow,  2.41  cents  in  Manchester,  and 
2.25  cents  in  Liverpool.  In  Sheffield  there  are  no 
fares  in  excess  of  two  cents.  And  on  these  fares 
the  cities  earn  large  sums.  In  1905  the  net  receipts 
in  Manchester  exceeded  a  million  dollars.  In  Glas- 
gow they  amounted  to  $1,853,000,  and  in  Liverpool 
to  $925,000.  These  were  the  earnings  in  excess  of 
operating  expenses.  In  Liverpool  it  is  claimed  that 
the  reduction  of  fares  has  resulted  in  an  annual 
saving  to  passengers  of  $1,600,000  and  in  London 
to  $500,000.  The  city  of  Glasgow  claims  an  annual 
saving  to  the  people  in  fares  and  profits  of  $2,500,- 
000.  All  over  Great  Britain  the  municipal  street  car 
service  is  highly  satisfactory.  The  cars  are  run  on 
frequent  schedules,  operation  is  free  from  accident, 
the  cars  are  cleaned  and  disinfected,  and  you  get  a 
seat  for  a  fare.  The  type  of  car  is  the  double-decker 
pattern.  Certainly  the  service  is  greatly  superior 
to  that  which  preceded  it,  for  the  comfort  and  con- 
venience of  the  people  is  safeguarded  at  every  turn. 
The  water  supply  is  almost  universally  under  the 
control  of  the  city.  The  electricity  supply  is  widely 
owned.  The  tramways  and  electricity  undertakings 
have  been  taken  over  during  the  last  ten  years.  In 
the  United  Kingdom  there  are  270  public  gas  un- 
dertakings whose  average  charge  per  thousand 
cubic  feet  is  fifty-nine  cents.  This  is  against  an 
average  of  sixty-five  cents  per  thousand  cubic  feet 
charged  by  the  482  private  companies.     And  even 


238  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

with  this  difference  the  municipal  gas  undertakings 
make  immense  profits.  In  1903  the  net  receipts  of 
the  Glasgow  gas  plant  were  $718,000 ;  of  Manches- 
ter, $746,000;  of  Birmingham,  $841,000;  while  the 
charges  to  consumers  in  these  cities  are  very  much 
below  the  average.  They  range  from  forty-two  to 
fifty-eight  cents  per  thousand  cubic  feet. 

The  British  city  has  outdistanced  the  world  in 
its  business  undertakings.  It  has  made  municipal 
trading  pay,  and  pay  largely.  Through  ownership 
it  has  taken  the  big  privileged  interests  that  form 
the  chief  burden  on  reform  in  America  out  of  poli- 
tics. The  cities  are  now  able  to  look  after  the 
people  better;  to  give  them  cheap  transportation, 
cheap  light,  fuel,  and  water ;  to  encourage  industry 
and  promote  comfort  in  countless  ways.  There  is 
no  conflict  of  interest  in  the  community.  There  is 
no  class,  no  interest,  no  large  number  of  persons 
who  are  alien  to  the  city's  well-being.  With  the 
same  policy  in  view,  the  city  is  ridding  itself  of  the 
private  contractor.  It  has  established  municipal 
workshops,  and  does  it  construction  work  through 
its  own  employees.  The  contractor  is  being  abol- 
ished. His  profits  now  remain  in  the  city  treasury 
or  go  into  better  work  or  into  living  wages  to  the 
employees.  It  is  this  sort  of  thrift  that  has 
brought  to  the  British  city  the  approval  of  its  busi- 
ness men.  Big  business  does  not  enter  city  politics 
because  there  are  no  prizes  for  it  to  gain  in  the 


AMEBIC  AN  AND  BEITISH  CITIES  239 

political  arena.  Likewise  the  English  police  force 
is  a  superb  body  of  men.  It  is  dignified,  and  thinks 
well  of  itself.  This  is  because  the  public  thinks 
well  of  its  servants.  Health  administration  is  also 
scrupulously  careful,  as  is  the  cleaning  and  the 
lighting  of  the  streets,  the  looking  after  sewage 
disposal  and  the  prevention  of  infectious  diseases. 

The  British  city,  too,  is  free  from  the  spoils  sys- 
tem. Jobs  are  filled  for  efficiency  and  not  for  pull, 
and  the  employee  is  retained  during  good  behav- 
iour. This  is  a  real  democracy  of  merit.  An  alder- 
man would  think  of  demanding  a  city  contract  for 
himself  as  soon  as  he  would  the  creation  of  an  un- 
necessary job  for  a  friend  or  relative.  Public  opin- 
ion, too,  would  tolerate  the  one  about  as  quickly 
as  it  would  the  other.  Not  that  the  English  city 
has  any  civil  service  laws.  It  doesn't  need  them. 
Public  opinion  regulates  the  service  just  as  it  does 
official  conduct  in  other  regards.  This  is  the  only 
kind  of  a  merit  system  that  protects  the  public  from 
a  bureaucratic  administration. 

It  is  along  these  lines  that  the  British  city  is  su- 
preme. It  has  a  fine  sense  of  itself.  It  has  an 
intelligent  conscience.  It  commands  the  service 
of  a  high  grade  of  citizenship.  It  has  never  known 
the  ward  heeler,  and  is  exacting  in  its  demands 
upon  its  councilmen.  And  the  people  delight  in  the 
city's  successes.  They  are  proud  of  a  fine  tramway 
balance  sheet.    They  applaud  an  efficient  manager. 


240  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

They  are  glad  when  the  city  makes  a  profit.  Not 
for  the  sake  of  the  profit  alone,  but  because  of  the 
success  of  it  all.  The  people  care  for  the  city  and 
talk  city  in  a  way  that  we  do  not  and  cannot  com- 
prehend. 

It  is  in  its  thrifty,  commercial  side  that  the  Brit- 
ish city  excels.  Largely  owing  to  the  fact  that 
only  tax-  or  rate-payers  vote,  the  Council  repre- 
sents property,  not  persons.  It  is  this  that  gives  a 
rather  sordid,  ungenerous  tone  to  all  discussion. 
For  the  taxes  are  assessed  against  the  rental  value 
rather  than  upon  the  capitalised  value  of  the  prop- 
erty itself.  The  taxes  are  paid  by  the  tenant  and 
not  by  the  land  owner.  In  consequence,  the  British 
councilman  is  always  in  terror  of  the  tax-payer. 
And  the  people  get  a  tax-payer's  administration, 
and  an  administration  that  is  very  timorous  of  any- 
thing which  increases  the  rates. 

This  has  had  a  bad  as  well  as  a  good  side.  Most 
critics  see  only  the  good  side.  But  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  it  is  probable  that  this  making  of  government 
a  commercial  thing,  this  making  the  payment  of 
rent  or  the  ownership  of  property  a  prerequisite  to 
the  suffrage,  this  throwing  the  taxes  upon  the  ten- 
ant rather  than  the  property,  is  one  of  the  worst 
things  in  British  political  life.  I  appreciate  that 
it  satisfies  that  class  of  American  critics  who  feel 
that  we  have  extended  the  suffrage  too  far.  But  in 
the  long  run  the  evil  effects  are  greater  than  the 


AMERICAN  AND  BRITISH  CITIES  241 

good  ones.  With,  us  the  suffrage  is  a  personal 
thing.  It  has  no  reference  to  the  ownership  of 
property.  In  consequence  democracy  is  more  gen- 
erous, more  hospitable  to  new  ideas,  more  ready  to 
be  liberal  with  its  parks,  its  schools,  its  libraries, 
its  provisions  for  the  poor.  These  are  costly  luxu- 
ries. They  are  not  needed  by  the  well-to-do.  This 
in  part  explains  the  fact  that  the  American  school 
system  is  far  in  advance  of  that  of  Great  Britain. 
For  our  school  administration,  as  a  rule,  is  good. 
In  some  cities  it  is  brilliant.  Its  very  general 
goodness  certainly  relieves  the  wholesale  condem- 
nation of  our  cities.  And  in  many  cities  we  collect 
from  direct  taxes  almost  as  much  for  school  pur- 
poses as  we  do  for  municipal  administration. 

The  same  is  true  of  our  libraries.  They  are  the 
best  in  the  world.  Aside  from  private  endowments, 
our  cities  generously  maintain  these  popular  uni- 
versities, with  branches  and  distributing  agencies 
which  bring  an  opportunity  of  culture  and  refine- 
ment to  all  classes.  We  have  also  been  more  gen- 
erous in  our  parks.  We  have  been  lavish,  and,  in 
most  instances,  wise  in  the  beautification  of  our 
cities.  We  are  beginning  to  open  up  playgrounds, 
and  are  now  erecting  municipal  baths,  wash 
houses,  kindergartens,  and  enterprises  of  a  similar 
sort,  for  the  relief  of  the  very  poor.  There  is  a 
big  generosity  about  our  democracy  that  is  not 
found  in  Great  Britain.     Our  politics  are  uot  so 


212  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

cheese-paring.  We  are  even  willing  to  be  wasteful 
in  order  to  get  the  things  we  want.  Then,  too,  we 
have  a  more  humane  spirit  in  our  attitude  toward 
the  dependent  and  criminal  classes.  The  British 
penal  code  is  barbarous.  It  does  not  temper  the 
wind  to  the  shorn  lamb,  but  enforces  the  rigour 
of  the  law  against  those  who  have  failed.  British 
poor  administration  still  confounds  poverty  with 
crime.  In  America  we  are  coming  to  discriminate 
and  to  appreciate  that  the  poor  of  our  cities  are 
not  wholly  responsible  for  their  poverty,  and  that 
vice  and  crime  are  more  often  the  result  of  indus- 
trial environment  than  of  vicious  character. 

There  is  an  open-mindedness  about  the  best  Amer- 
ican cities  that  is  not  found  in  Great  Britain.  We 
are  ready  to  take  up  new  ideas>  to  experiment  with 
ourselves,  for  we  have  no  age-long  traditions  that 
restrain  and  chain  us  to  the  past.  Chicago  willingly 
expended  millions  for  children's  parks,  play- 
grounds, and  gymnasiums.  Boston  did  the  same 
thing.  The  city  of  Cleveland  has  bought  a  1900- 
acre  farm  upon  which  it  is  endeavouring  to  reclaim 
its  workhouse  prisoners  and  bring  back  the  poor 
and  destitute  flotsam  of  the  city  to  a  proper  adjust- 
ment with  life.  New  York,  commercialised  to  the 
core,  has  spent  millions  on  playgrounds  and  recrea- 
tion piers. 

All  this  is  part  of  a  generous  democratic  sense 
that  Great  Britain  lacks.    It  is  a  sense  which  a  city 


AMERICAN  AND  BRITISH  CITIES  243 

that  measures  its  life  from  the  rate-payer's  stand- 
point never  can  have.  For  the  American  ideal,  in 
so  far  as  such  exists,  is  to  make  the  city  helpful. 
The  British  ideal  is  to  make  its  enterprises  pay 
their  way  by  some  means,  or  at  least  to  be  very 
careful  of  the  tax-rate.  The  one  is  democracy,  the 
other  is  democracy  subject  to  the  curb  of  the  tax- 
paying  class.  And  it  is  a  far  easier  task  for  Amer- 
ica to  improve  the  personnel  of  the  official  class 
than  it  is  for  England  to  break  away  from  this 
rate-payer's  conception  of  government,  which,  in 
many  instances,  seems  very  sordid  and  mean. 

The  same  thing  is  true  in  the  growing  demand 
for  municipal  beauty  in  America,  Boston,  New 
York,  Philadelphia,  Detroit,  and  notably  Cleveland, 
are  doing  many  of  the  things  that  make  the  Ger- 
man city  so  attractive.  Our  cities  are  embodying 
their  ideals  in  fine  monuments,  just  as  the  people 
of  the  middle  ages  expressed  their  aspirations  in 
splendid  cathedrals  and  their  local  patriotism  in 
fine  monuments  and  town  halls.  We  are  showing 
a  willingness  to  pay  for  fine  architecture,  for 
beauty  in  the  concrete.  The  British  city,  on  the 
other  hand,  is  the  ugliest  city  in  Europe.  There 
are  a  few  exceptions,  such  as  Edinburgh  and  Dub- 
lin and  the  cathedral  towns.  Within  the  past  few 
years  the  London  County  Council  has  done  some 
big  things,  and  gives  promise  of  making  London  a 
more  beautiful  city.    But  it  is  the  most  democratic 


244  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

body  in  Great  Britain,  and  London  oared  little  for 
beauty  until  it  became  democratic.  As  a  rule,  the 
cities  of  Great  Britain  have  been  very  indifferent 
to  adornment.  They  reflect  the  fear  of  the  rate- 
payer. The  city  is  unwilling  to  commemorate  it- 
self in  a  beautiful  way.  Tyrannised  over  by  the 
tax-payers,  it  dares  not  incur  expenditure  for  the 
more  superfluous  luxuries  of  city  life.  The  Ameri- 
can city,  however,  gives  promise  of  being  beautified 
in  the  next  generation  far  beyond  what  it  is  to- 
day. It  is  along  these  lines  that  our  cities  will 
first  attain  municipal  consciousness.  This  is  partly 
due  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  strong  commercial 
class  among  us  ready  to  resist  such  a  movement. 
But  the  main  reason — a  reason  usually  ignored 
by  critics — is  the  aspiration  of  democracy  for  a  big 
communal  life.  In  addition  to  this,  our  streets  are 
broader  and  finer,  our  business  architecture  more 
promising,  in  spite  of  the  sky-scraper.  The  time  is 
not  far  distant  when  our  cities  will  study  beauty 
just  as  do  the  German  cities,  which  compete  in  at- 
tractiveness for  the  travellers  of  Europe. 

These  are  some  of  the  things  usually  overlooked 
in  the  comparison  of  our  cities  with  those  of  Great 
Britain.  They  are  some  of  our  advantages.  And 
the  American  city  can  correct  the  evils  which  are 
the  result  of  political  conditions  much  more  read- 
ily than  the  British  city  can  change  the  physical 
limitations  and  age-long  traditions  that  cramp  and 


AMEKICAN  AND  BKITISH  CITIES  245 

confine  it  in  a  physical  way.  For  the  British  city 
can  only  cure  its  economic  diseases  through  the 
most  radical  departure  in  its  land  system  and  the 
method  of  assessing  local  revenues. 

Remote  as  the  question  of  taxes  may  seem  to  an 
understanding  of  municipal  conditions,  it  lies  at 
the  root  of  the  ideals  and  character  of  the  British 
city.  A  comparison  of  London  and  New  York  will 
indicate  this  fact.  The  local  taxes  paid  by  the  Lon- 
don land  owners  directly  are  about  the  same  to-day 
that  they  were  in  the  seventeenth  century.  The  city 
of  New  York,  on  the  other  hand,  revalues  its  land 
every  year.  In  1904  the  naked  land  was  appraised 
at  |3,697,686,935.  On  this  valuation,  taxes  in  ex- 
cess of  $50,000,000  were  collected  for  city  purposes. 
This  is  possibly  fifty  times  the  amount  collected 
from  the  land  of  London,  whose  population  is  twice 
that  of  New  York,  and  whose  site  values  are  prob- 
ably not  far  from  six  billion  dollars.  The  explana- 
tion of  such  an  anomaly?  Those  who  own  the  land 
in  Great  Britain  also  control  Parliament.  They 
form  the  House  of  Lords.  They  pass  all  laws  relat- 
ing to  taxation.  Through  this  control  they  legis- 
late into  their  own  pockets  an  enormous  sum,  which, 
if  land  were  taxed  as  is  done  in  New  York,  would 
amount  in  London  alone  to  a  hundred  million  dol- 
lars a  year.  It  is  against  just  such  misuse  of 
government  that  President  Roosevelt,  Senator  La 
Follette,  Governor  Pingree,  and  Senator  Colby  di- 


246  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

rected  their  energies  in  their  struggle  for  equitable 
taxation.  But  Great  Britain  accepts  this  condition 
without  protest,  or,  at  most,  complains  of  it  as  class 
legislation.  Thus  the  poor  of  London  are  made 
poorer  by  f  100,000,000  a  year  than  they  would  be 
if  land  were  taxed  as  it  is  in  the  city  of  New  York. 
This  explains  in  part  the  unparalleled  poverty, 
misery,  and  degradation  of  the  British  city. 

I  am  not  unmindful  of  American  conditions,  of 
the  corruption  and  incompetence  of  our  Councils,  of 
the  dirty  streets  and  demoralised  police  and  health 
forces.  These  have  become  the  commonplaces  of 
criticism.  But  these  are  errors  we  are  more  or  less 
rapidly  correcting.  We  are  learning  how  to  make 
use  of  our  tools;  how  to  get  the  right  sort  of  men 
in  politics  and  keep  the  wrong  sort  of  business  out. 
The  next  ten  years  is  bound  to  see  a  great  advance 
in  city  conditions.  But  despite  our  apparent  fail- 
ures, the  great  advantage  which  the  American  city 
enjoys  is  a  physical  one.  It  lies  in  our  better  tax 
machinery,  in  our  economic  environment.  We  can 
appreciate  the  condition  New  York  would  be  in 
were  all  of  the  land  of  the  city  owned  by  a  half 
dozen  great  estates,  which  estates  were  in  control 
of  the  Legislature  at  Albany,  who  made  use  of  that 
control  to  free  the  land  which  they  own  from  tax- 
ation, and  compel  the  other  class  to  pay  all  the 
revenues  of  the  metropolis.  For  that  is  the  condi- 
tion of  the  British  city. 


AMERICAN  AND  BRITISH  CITIES  247 

It  is  impossible  for  America  to  have  any  under- 
standing of  the  attitude  of  Great  Britain  toward 
its  aristocracy  and  the  land  which  it  owns.  There 
are  some  Englishmen  Avho  appreciate  this  condi- 
tion, but  not  many.  For  land,  as  land,  is  sacro- 
sanct in  Great  Britain.  It  enjoys  a  distinction 
not  unlike  that  of  the  Federal  Constitution  in 
America.  It  is  too  sacred  to  be  touched  except  by 
the  permission  of  those  who  own  it.  Land  is  really 
the  controlling  factor  in  Great  Britain's  political, 
social,  and  industrial  life.  The  country  is  afflicted 
with  a  kind  of  land  worship,  which  centuries  of 
feudal  ownership  have  cast  about  it.  This  sacred- 
ness  affects  the  British  city  in  countless  ways. 
And  the  landlords  will  not  sell  to  the  people. 
They  lease,  and  only  lease  when  the  price  has 
reached  a  point  where  the  people  must  have  the 
land  at  any  cost.  The  owners  can  hold  on  to  the 
land  indefinitely  because  the  land,  as  land,  pays 
no  taxes. 

The  British  city  cannot  grow  until  the  lord  of 
the  manor  lets  go  of  his  untaxed  land.  And  he 
waits  until  he  gets  the  last  penny  out  of  it.  Herein 
lies  the  explanation  of  the  irregular  architecture 
of  the  British  city,  the  fearful  tenements,  and  the 
acres  of  unimproved  land.  For  so  long  as  it  is 
vacant  it  pays  no  taxes  at  all.  If  it  is  badly  im- 
proved, it  pays  but  little. 

In  America,  land  is  taxed,  or  supposed  to  be 


248  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

taxed,  at  its  capital  value.  City  taxes  are  so  high 
that  the  owner  must  improve  the  land  or  sell.  He 
cannot  leave  a  shack  where  an  office  building  should 
be  erected.  In  consequence,  our  cities  are  con- 
stantly being  rebuilt;  the  two-story  building  gives 
way  to  a  six-story.  As  the  town  grows,  this  gives 
place  to  a  sky-scraper.  Not  so  in  Great  Britain; 
for  the  shack  pays  taxes  only  on  its  rental  as  a 
shack.  In  consequence,  the  land  owner  is  under 
no  stimulus  to  sell.  He  need  not  worry  about  his 
rentals,  for  the  growth  of  the  city  is  enough  in  itself 
to  compensate  him  for  any  loss  in  this  regard.  All 
of  the  corruption  of  our  councils,  all  of  the  losses 
to  the  public  service  corporations,  all  of  the  mil- 
lions which  go  to  excessive  street  railway  fares,  gas, 
and  telephone,  and  electricity  charges  are  insig- 
nificant in  comparison  with  the  cost  of  the  dead 
hand  of  feudalism  which  casts  a  blight  on  the  Brit- 
ish city  and  throws  all  of  the  burdens  of  taxation 
upon  the  tenant  and  the  poor. 

These  are  only  the  most  obvious  of  the  evils 
of  the  British  system  of  land  tenure  and  taxation. 
For  it  is  the  attitude  toward  the  land  that  explains 
the  tenement  and  the  slum,  that  crushes  out  light, 
air,  and  sunlight,  that  breeds  disease,  and  renders 
the  development  of  municipal  architecture  and 
beauty  so  costly  to  the  rate-payers. 

From  such  an  affliction  we  are  largely  free.  There 
is  some  sanctity  of  respectability  about  the  abuses 


AMERICAN  AND  BRITISH  CITIES  249 

of  privilege  in  America.  But  it  is  not  age-long. 
There  is  no  tradition  of  feudalism,  no  respect  bor- 
dering on  veneration  for  a  class  that  strangles  the 
free  expression  of  the  people.  True,  our  cities  are 
more  or  less  prostrate  before  the  big  business  inter- 
ests desiring  franchises  and  privileges  in  the  streets. 
But  we  are  awakening  to  these  conditions,  and  have 
no  hesitancy  about  their  destruction.  They  enjoy 
no  sanctity  such  as  attaches  to  the  privileged  classes 
in  Great  Britain.  And  all  over  America  the  forces 
of  reform  are  coming  to  appreciate  that  good  gov- 
ernment is  only  possible  when  privilege  is  exiled 
from  its  councils.  We  are  coming  to  realise  that 
the  inefficiency  and  corruption  of  municipal  admin- 
istration is  economic  no  less  than  personal,  and 
that  both  must  be  corrected  together.  In  this  larger 
perspective  the  American  city  is  much  more  hopeful 
than  the  British  city.  It  will  be  a  far  easier  task 
to  lure  good  men  into  our  councils  than  it  is  for 
Great  Britain  to  overcome  the  mediaeval  burdens 
which  crib,  cabin  and  confine  her  cities  through 
centuries  of  class  control  of  Parliament.  Long  be- 
fore another  generation  passes,  the  American  city 
will  have  called  to  its  aid  the  type  of  men  who  have 
given  the  British  city  its  present  proud  distinction. 
But  back  of  all  this,  our  superior  physical  endow- 
ment, our  comparative  freedom  from  a  land  mon- 
opoly in  control  of  legislation,  our  open-minded 
democracy,  assures  us  a  city  far  more  beautiful, 


250  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

vastly  more  helpful,  and  infinitely  more  generous 
in  its  ideals  than  the  British  city  now  is.  It  is  this 
freedom  from  feudal  abuses  and  the  tyranny  of 
ideas  inherited  from  an  earlier  civilisation  that 
give  promise  that  the  American  city  of  the  next 
generation  will  not  be  the  worst,  but  rather  the 
best,  governed  city  in  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XVI 
THE  DEAD  HAND  OF  THE  LAND 

Ix  a  previous  chapter  we  have  seen  how  all  local 
taxes  are  assessed  upon  the  rental  value  of  prop- 
erty, rather  than  against  the  value  of  the  land 
itself;  how  the  right  to  vote  is  a  rate-payer's  rather 
than  a  personal  right.  This  tying  of  the  suffrage 
to  the  pecuniary  interest  of  the  voter  makes  for 
honesty,  efficiency,  and  economy.  These  are  the 
advantages  which  flow  from  a  limited  suffrage  and 
the  adjustment  of  the  burdens  of  government  so 
that  they  are  constantly  in  the  mind  of  the  voter. 
These  are  the  effects  that  are  seen.  They  are  the 
advantages  which  commend  a  property  suffrage 
qualification  to  those  who  distrust  democracy. 

But  the  unseen  effects  of  this  method  of  levying 
local  rates  are  all  bad.  It  would  be  difficult  to 
exaggerate  the  social,  political,  and  economic  evils 
which  follow  from  the  relief  of  land,  as  such,  from 
taxation,  and  the  shifting  of  the  burdens  of  gov- 
ernment on  to  labour  and  industry.  For  that  is 
the  effect  of  the  British  rating  system.  It  punishes 
where  it  should  encourage.  It  places  a  premium 
upon  indolence.     This,  with  the  monopoly  of  the 

251 


252  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

land,  Which  is  the  inevitable  result  of  its  exemption 
from  direct  taxation,  are  the  controlling  influences 
in  the  life  of  the  United  Kingdom.  They  are  mediae- 
val survivals  of  feudalism,  born  of  the  long  unchal- 
lenged rule  of  the  land-owning  classes  in  Parlia- 
ment. These  institutions  cry  out  as  insistently 
for  change  as  did  the  Rotten  Boroughs  and  the  un- 
regenerate  towns  prior  to  the  Municipal  Corpora- 
tions Act  of  1835.  The  latter  measure  recognised 
personal  democracy.  It  freed  the  towns  from  the 
dominion  of  a  corrupt  and  inert  class,  who  had  come 
to  look  upon  the  municipalities  as  private  posses- 
sions for  the  promotion  of  their  interests.  The 
need  for  reform  in  the  system  of  taxation  is  no  less 
insistent,  if  democracy  is  to  use  the  powers  resident 
in  it  for  the  relief  of  the  burdens  which  modern 
society  has  heaped  upon  the  masses.  The  British 
city  can  never  achieve  its  ideals  until  these  surviv- 
als are  swept  away  and  abuses  in  the  form  of  spe- 
cial privileges  are  destroyed. 

At  this  distance  we  are  able  to  see  the  causes 
which  led  up  to  the  French  Revolution.  Historians 
have  generally  laid  the  misery  of  the  people  and 
the  decay  of  the  Empire  at  the  door  of  unequal  tax- 
ation and  the  oppressive  exactions  of  the  privileged 
orders.  In  this  respect,  modern  Britain  differs 
but  little  from  France  of  the  old  regime.  Her  peo- 
ple are  suffering  from  a  similar  oppression  at  the 
hands  of  the  gentry,  who  govern  the  country  in 


THE  DEAD  HAND  OF  THE  LAND  253 

their  own  interest  and  control  the  distribution  of 
taxes.  France  and  Germany  attacked  the  feudal 
S3rsteni  at  its  roots  by  abolishing  the  economic  priv- 
ileges of  the  overlord.  Great  Britain  abolished  the 
personal  relationship  and  the  incidents  of  service 
only.  The  land  monopoly,  upon  which  the  feudal 
system  was  reared,  was  left  intact.  The  passing  of 
feudalism  in  the  seventeenth  century  was  formal 
rather  than  real.  The  barons  were  relieved  of  their 
obligations  to  the  King.  The  obligations  of  the  com- 
mon people  to  the  barons  were  increased.  And  it 
is  the  survival  of  these  feudal  burdens,  in  the  form 
of  competitive  money  rents  and  oppressive  taxes, 
that  explains  many  of  the  institutions  of  Great 
Britain  to-day.  The  British  cities  remain  in  a  con- 
dition of  vassalage  far  more  oppressive  and  much 
more  costly  than  those  against  which  the  burghers 
of  the  Middle  Ages  so  valiantly  fought,  though  this 
servitude  is  of  an  economic  rather  than  of  a  per- 
sonal sort.  It  is  difficult  to  understand  either  mod- 
ern Britain  or  her  municipal  institutions  except  as 
historical  survivals  of  centuries  of  class  rule. 

When  the  insecurity  of  the  Middle  Ages  settled 
down  sufficiently  to  permit  of  the  development  of 
trade  and  commerce,  communities  arose  all  over 
the  face  of  Europe.  At  first  they  were  mere  trad- 
ing posts.  In  time  they  developed  into  walled 
towns.  They  became  the  centres  of  industry,  later 
of  wealth.     But  the  inhabitants  found  that  they 


254  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

were  dwelling  upon  the  domains  of  some  neighbour- 
ing over-lord.  They  were  vassals,  and  vassals  be- 
cause they  did  not  own  the  land  upon  which  they 
dwelt.  The  property  which  they  amassed  was  sub- 
ject to  seizure  and  arbitrary  taxation.  To  the  feu- 
dal baron  the  citizens  of  the  towns  were  depend- 
ents, differing  in  no  respect  from  the  serfs  who 
dwelt  upon  his  broad  estates.  He  compelled  them 
to  do  homage,  to  pay  such  tribute  as  he  demanded, 
to  serve  in  his  wars  against  his  neighbours.  He 
called  the  merchant  from  his  counting-room,  the 
artisan  from  his  bench.  Over  these  demands  con- 
troversy arose.  The  burghers  resented  the  taxes 
and  compulsory  service  from  which  they  derived  no 
advantage.  As  they  grew  in  strength  they  pro- 
tested. They  closed  the  gates  of  the  towns  and 
manned  their  walls  with  armed  men.  In  this  strug- 
gle of  the  towns  and  the  barons  civil  liberty  had 
its  beginnings.  Some  of  the  communities  compro- 
mised, and  agreed  to  pay  a  fixed  tribute  instead  of 
feudal  dues,  in  exchange  for  the  privilege  of  self- 
government.  Others,  in  time,  became  wholly  free. 
They  defied  the  over-lord  and  in  some  instances 
the  Empire  itself.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  City 
Republics  in  Italy.  The  Hanseatic  towns  achieved 
their  liberty  in  the  same  way.  Hamburg,  Bremen, 
and  Liibeck  remain  to  this  day  free  cities. 

Many  of  the  towns  of  Great  Britain  secured  char- 
ters in  the  Middle  Ages  from  the  crown.     They 


THE  DEAD  HAND  OF  THE  LAND  255 

were  granted  self-government  in  exchange  for  gifts 
and  favours  to  the  King.  But  under  the  corrupt 
reign  of  Charles  II  they  were  despoiled  of  their 
prerogatives.  From  this  time  on  down  to  the  Mu- 
nicipal Corporations  Act  of  1835,  they  enjoyed  but 
a  semblance  of  freedom.  They  were  parliamentary 
boroughs,  administered  in  the  interest  of  a  handful 
of  freemen.  But  the  towns  of  Great  Britain  were 
never  free  as  were  the  towns  of  Europe.  They  were 
never  released  from  the  condition  of  vassalage.  For 
the  nobility  of  Great  Britain,  unlike  the  nobility 
on  the  continent,  became  a  ruling  class.  They  quar- 
relled with  the  King,  but  rarely  with  one  another. 
They  had  a  common  cause  against  the  Crown  on 
the  one  hand  and  the  people  on  the  other.  They 
legalised  their  feudal  privileges  and  gave  them  the 
sanction  of  law.  They  transmitted  the  obligations 
of  personal  service  upon  which  the  feudal  system 
was  reared  into  rent  and  taxes.  Upon  their  estates, 
villages,  towns  and  cities  arose.  The  people  were 
given  their  personal  freedom.  A  standing  army 
was  substituted  for  military  service.  In  the  time 
of  Charles  II,  feudalism  was  abolished  in  so  far 
as  its  personal  incidents  were  concerned.  Since 
that  time  democracy  has  come  in.  The  people  have 
been  given  the  suffrage.  Local  self-government  has 
been  extended  to  the  towns.  But  in  this  transition 
from  age  to  age  the  aristocracy  retained  its  feudal 
ownership  of  the  land.     It  abandoned  none  of  its 


256  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

economic  privileges.  At  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
added  to  them  with  every  apparent  concession  to 
liberty.  To-day  the  people  pay  a  more  exacting 
tribute  than  did  their  Tudor  ancestors.  Instead  of 
personal  service  they  now  pay  its  modern  equiva- 
lent— rent.  In  addition  they  pay  the  local  taxes. 
The  feudal  nobility  made  use  of  its  position  in  Par- 
liament to  exempt  its  own  property  from  taxation 
and  to  shift  it  on  to  the  tenants.  And  the  rents 
which  the  people  pay  are  constantly  increasing  in 
amount.  They  are  no  longer  fixed  by  custom,  as 
they  were  under  the  feudal  order.  They  are  com- 
petitive rents  of  a  growing  city.  They  con- 
stantly tend  to  increase  through  the  struggle  for 
existence. 

To-day,  the  land  of  Great  Britain  is  owned  by  a 
handful  of  persons.  According  to  the  Domesday 
Book  of  1874,  which,  however,  is  said  to  be  some- 
what untrustworthy,  it  appears  that  one-fourth  of 
the  total  acreage  of  the  country  is  held  by  twelve 
hundred  owners.  Another  fourth  is  held  by  6200 
persons,  while  the  remaining  one-half  is  distributed 
between  312,150  persons.  In  other  words,  eight 
one-thousandths  of  the  inhabitants  of  Great  Britain 
own  all  of  the  land.  Not  one  person  out  of  every 
hundred  has  any  ownership  in  the  soil.1    But  even 

JThe  Domesday  Book  excludes  returns  of  the  metropolis  and 
omits  great  areas  of  woods,  plantations  and  wastes,  as  well  as 
unenclosed  commons  over  which  manorial  rights  extend.  It 
also  classes  leaseholders  of  99  years  and  over  as  owners.  From 


THE  DEAD  HAND  OF  THE  LAND  257 

this  does  not  indicate  the  concentration  of  owner- 
ship. There  are  twelve  landlords  who  own  four 
and  one-half  million  acres  between  them.  The  peers, 
who  number  about  six  hundred,  own  from  one-fifth 
to  one-fourth  of  the  land  in  the  kingdom.  Much 
of  the  land  cannot  be  sold  except  by  special  act  of 
Parliament.  And  this  is  so  costly  that  it  is  rarely 
resorted  to.  A  perpetual  aristocracy  is  assured  by 
a  system  of  primogeniture,  by  entails  and  acts  of 
settlement  devised  to  keep  estates  intact  within 
the  family.  Conscious  of  the  power  which  the 
ownership  of  land  confers,  in  a  country  where  all 
of  the  land  is  taken  up,  the  aristocracy  has  made 
it  almost  impossible  for  one  who  is  born  into  that 
class  to  divest  himself  of  his  heirship.  It  has  made 
it  equally  difficult  for  any  one  not  so  born  to  obtain 
access  to  its  sources  of  power.  There  is  nothing 
quite  like  this  in  the  civilised  world. 

Great  cities  have  come  into  existence  during  the 
past  century  upon  the  estates  of  the  nobility.  The 
land  underlying  the  metropolis  of  London  is  owned 

the  above  figures  plots  of  land  of  less  than  one  acre  are 
eluded. 

Comparing  these  figures  with  those  of  the  continental  coun- 
tries, it  appears  that  in  Prussia  there  are  800,000  labourers 
who  own  their  land  and  cultivate  it.  In  Belgium,  with  an  area 
of  less  than  one-fifth  of  England  and  Wales,  alone  there  are 
more  than  a  million  landowners,  while  in  France  there  are 
five  million  owners  averaging  7V&  acres  and  a  half  million 
averaging  75  acres. 

See  The  Land  and  The  Community,  S.  W.  Thackeray, 
page  211. 


258  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

in  large  part  by  the  families  of  Westminster,  Cado- 
gan,  Portman,  Eyre,  Portland,  Camden,  Bedford, 
Northampton,  Llangattock,  and  others.  Sir  John 
Ramsden  owns  the  city  of  Huddersfield,  with  a 
population  of  95,000.  The  Duke  of  Norfolk  is  the 
ground  landlord  of  Sheffield.  His  ground  rentals 
alone  approximate  about  |5.00  a  head  for  every 
man,  woman  and  child  in  the  city.  Lord  Derby  is 
one  of  the  chief  landlords  of  the  city  of  Liverpool. 
He  owns  the  town  of  Bury.  The  cities  of  Deven- 
port  and  Burton-on-Trent  are  built  upon  the  lands 
of  a  single  owner.  The  same  is  true  of  many  other 
English  towns.  They  have  come  into  existence 
through  no  enterprise  of  the  landlords,  whom  they 
have  enriched  beyond  the  proverbial  dreams  of 
avarice. 

The  Duke  of  Norfolk  recently  sold  the  town  of 
Sheffield  the  right  to  maintain  a  market.  The  price 
charged  for  this  privilege  was  |2,500,000.  Inas- 
much as  the  Duke  of  Norfolk  owned  all  of  the  land 
underlying  the  city,  the  Council  had  no  other  alter- 
native but  to  pay  the  price  demanded  by  him  if  it 
desired  to  serve  the  people  in  this  way.  The  Covent 
Garden  Market  is  owned  by  the  family  of  Bedford. 
From  it  the  present  duke  enjoys  a  princely  revenue. 
A  toll  is  levied  upon  every  gardener  who  ventures 
his  wagons  upon  the  neighbouring  streets  and  al- 
leys. Another  noble  lord  owns  Spitsfalsfield  Mar- 
ket, from  which  a  revenue  of  $90,000  a  year  is  col- 


THE  DEAD  HAND  OF  THE  LAND  259 

lected.  And  while  these  grants  were  originally 
but  permission  to  hold  a  market,  the  law,  as  solici- 
tous then  as  now  for  privilege,  held  that  these 
grants  were  in  the  nature  of  a  monopoly,  and  that 
no  other  markets  might  be  opened  within  a  radius 
of  seven  miles.  And  so  sacred  are  these  aristo- 
cratic privileges  that  neither  the  London  County 
Council  nor  the  London  Borough  Councils  may 
either  open  a  market  in  competition  with  them  or 
make  an  investigation  as  to  the  incomes  which  they 
enjoy. 

The  docks  are  a  monopoly  appurtenant  to  the 
soil,  the  same  as  the  markets.  They,  too,  are  owned 
by  the  landed  gentry.  The  great  port  of  London  is 
in  the  hands  of  a  monopoly.  Other  towns,  like  Glas- 
gow, Liverpool,  Bristol,  Dublin,  and  Swansea,  have 
municipalised  their  wharves.  But  all  the  water 
tonnage  which  enters  the  metropolis  pays  tribute 
to  the  four  great  companies  which  own  the  river 
frontage.  Their  aggregate  capital  is  f  100,000,000, 
and  the  metropolis  has  been  thwarted  in  every  effort 
to  free  the  port  from  the  monopoly  of  its  greatest 
asset,  the  River  Thames.  The  right  to  maintain  a 
public  house  is  now  a  landed  privilege,  made  so  by 
the  late  Conservative  government.  It  is  a  right 
affixed  to  the  site,  and  is  of  great  value.  It  is  like 
a  street  railway  franchise,  and  may  only  be  revoked * 
upon  compensation  being  paid  the  owner  by  the' 
community. 


260  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

Wherever  possible,  Parliament  has  created  a 
monopoly  and  then  given  it  official  protection.  This 
has  been  done  by  attaching  the  business  to  the  land. 
Thus  the  railways,  the  mines,  the  franchise  corpo- 
rations, the  markets,  the  docks,  and  latterly  the 
privilege  of  selling  liquor,  have  all  been  merged  into 
landed  rights,  where  competition  is  only  possible 
with  the  consent  of  the  owner. 

In  consequence  of  the  monopoly  of  the  land  in  a 
few  hands,  Britain  is  a  nation  of  tenants,  of  ten- 
ants under  the  most  remorseless  system  of  wealth 
appropriation  ever  sanctioned  by  law.  The  land 
is  held  under  lease,  and  the  tenant  is  compelled  to 
place  such  buildings  upon  it  as  the  owner  wills. 
He  must  keep  them  improved  and  in  the  original 
condition  of  efficiency.  From  time  to  time  the 
leases  are  revalued.  If  the  location  has  grown  in 
value,  as  most  of  the  sites  of  a  city  have,  the  rent 
is  increased.  On  the  expiration  of  the  grant,  all 
of  the  buildings,  improvements,  and  fixtures  pass 
to  the  landlord  without  compensation  to  the  tenant. 
By  this  process  in  time  the  land  owners  will  come 
into  possession  of  all  the  immovable  property  in 
the  kingdom.  They  also  enjoy  all  of  the  unearned 
increment,  which  becomes  theirs  without  effort 
and  under  laws  of  their  own  making.  Those  who 
own  the  land  can  always  determine  the  conditions 
of  its  use.  And  the  terms  of  leasehold  tenure  in 
Great  Britain  are  the  most  oppressive  and  the  most 


THE  DEAD  HAND  OF  THE  LAND  261 

vexatious  that  could  be  devised.  When  those  who 
own  the  land  also  control  the  government  these 
conditions  cannot  be  altered  except  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  owner. 

But  the  greatest  injustice  of  this  merger  of  poli- 
tics and  privilege  is  to  be  seen  in  the  tax  laws  of 
the  nation.  Here  the  most  oppressive  privileges 
have  been  created.  The  landlords  have  not  over- 
looked the  first  instinct  of  monopoly,  which  is  to 
make  the  masses  pay.  For  two  hundred  years  all 
legislation  has  been  devised  to  relieve  the  land  from 
direct  taxation.  To-day  land  that  is  not  in  use 
pays  no  taxes.  It  may  be  worth  millions  of  dollars 
an  acre  and  be  situated  in  the  heart  of  London — it 
pays  no  taxes  as  land.  It  may  be  a  suburban  estate 
badly  needed  for  building  purposes — it  still  pays 
no  direct  taxes.  If,  however,  the  land  is  built  upon, 
or  leased  for  productive  purposes,  the  tenant  pays 
taxes  in  proportion  to  his  rental.  To  this  extent 
the  value  of  the  land  enters  into  the  valuation.  The 
rate  is  so  many  shillings  to  the  pound.  It  is  a  sort 
of  income  tax,  but  an  income  tax  that  is  not  paid 
by  him  who  enjoys  the  income.  If  the  property  is 
not  occupied,  it  pays  no  local  taxes  at  all.  For  then 
there  is  no  tenant  to  make  the  payment,  If  the 
improvement  be  a  shack  in  the  centre  of  the  city, 
where  a  splendid  office  building  should  be  erected, 
it  is  rated  as  a  shack  at  a  few  pounds  per  year.  If 
it  be  suburban  building  land,  held  by  the  owner  for 


262  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

purposes  of  speculation,  and  rented  at  a  few  pounds 
per  acre  for  sheep  grazing,  it  is  taxed  on  the  rental 
paid  for  sheep  grazing.  Thus  the  land  owner  pays 
no  taxes  on  his  naked  land,  and  he  pays  none  at  all 
if  his  property  is  improved  but  unoccupied.1  And 
what  he  does  pay  is  paid  by  the  tenant,  and  only 
indirectly,  if  at  all,  shifted  on  to  his  shoulders. 

No  more  perfect  example  of  class  legislation  was 
ever  devised  than  this.  It  differs  from  that  of  the 
ancien  regime  in  France  only  in  the  democratic 
forms  under  the  guise  of  which  the  fraud  is  per- 
petrated. Parliament,  like  other  aristocratic  as- 
semblies, represents  itself  and  its  members'  interest. 
And  no  legislation  could  be  more  destructive  to  the 
life,  industry  and  well-being  of  the  people  than  the 
land  tax  laws  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  this  monopoly 
of  the  land,  and  its  exemption  from  taxation  that 
explains  the  heart  disease  of  the  English  nation.  It 
cramps  the  towns  and  strangles  their  development.2 

lrThe  city  of  Bradford  is  an  example  of  the  vicious  system 
of  exempting  land  values,  as  such,  from  taxation,  and  of  im- 
posing the  taxes  upon  the  rental  value  of  property  alone.  The 
area  of  the  old  town  was  10,076  acres.  Of  this,  nearly  one- 
half,  or  4,512  acres,  was  not  built  upon.  This  portion  was 
rated  at  $900,000,  but  was  worth  in  the  market  $19,000,000, 
and  would  have  been  rated  at  this  latter  sum  if  improved. 
Thus  the  enterprising  classes  who  made  use  of  the  land,  and 
built  upon  it,  were  compelled  to  pay  nearly  twice  as  much 
taxes  as  they  would  have  done  had  all  land  been  assessed,  as 
is  done  in  America,  whether  improved  or  unimproved. 

'Examples  of  the  destructive  effect  of  land  monopoly  and 
'  the  system  of  taxation  might  be  duplicated  indefinitely.  I. 
have  seen  tenements  erected  in  the  midst  of  an  open  field  out- 
side of  the  city  where  cottages  should  have  been  built.     Idle 


THE  DEAD  HAND  OF  THE  LAND     263 

The  landlord  can  hold  the  land  indefinitely  free 
from  taxes,  or  taxed  only  at  its  annual  rental.  It 
may  be  improved  with  miserable  shacks  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  town.  Inasmuch  as  the  shacks  are  taxed 
at  a  nominal  rate,  there  is  no  incentive  to  improve 
them.  The  land  may  be  worth  a  thousand  dollars 
a  foot,  the  tax  remains  the  same  as  though  it  were 
a  village  site.  If  the  landlord  chose  to  leave  the 
land  vacant,  or  if  the  estate  is  tied  up  by  family  set- 
tlement, or  otherwise,  in  a  way  which  makes  im- 
provement impossible,  it  pays  no  direct  taxes  at  all. 

It  is  this  that  explains  the  appearance  of  the  Eng- 
lish city,  its  unimproved  homes  and  ancient  busi- 
ness blocks,  unsuited  to  modern  conditions;  blocks 
which  would  quickly  make  way  for  something  better 
were  the  taxes  imposed  upon  the  capital  value  of 
the  land  as  is  done  in  America.  It  is  this  that 
explains  the  lack  of  beaut}"  in  the  British  city. 
With  the  exception  of  Edinburgh,  Dublin,  Cam- 
bridge, Oxford,  the  cathedral  towns,  and  parts  of 
London  and  Glasgow,  there  are  few  beautiful  cities 

land  was  lying  all  around;  but  these  tenements  were  filled  with 
a  dozen  families  to  a  stair.  There  was  land  in  abundance  for 
cottages,  but  the  landlord  was  under  no  compulsion  to  use  it 
until  he  was  ready  to  do  so,  for  the  vacant  land  paid  no  taxes. 
About  all  of  the  great  cities  of  England  is  land  used  for  agri- 
cultural purposes,  or  idle,  and  valued  for  taxation  at  from  $10 
to  $20  an  acre  (annual  rental  value),  which,  on  being  built 
upon  by  tenements,  became  worth  from  $400  to  $300  an  acre. 
Inasmuch  as  the  landlord  is  free  from  taxes,  he  can  hold  the 
land  from  use  until  the  city  has  grown  to  the  point  where 
tenement  conditions,  like  those  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  can 
be  reproduced. 


2G4  THE  BETTISH  CITY 

in  Great  Britain.  No  cities  of  America,  with  the 
possible  exception  of  Pittsburg  and  Chicago,  com- 
pare in  ugliness  with  Sheffield,  Manchester,  Belfast, 
and  the  manufacturing  towns  of  England.  While 
Continental  cities  are  centres  of  beauty,  with  wide 
streets  and  commanding  avenues,  the  English  city- 
is  black  and  unkempt,  irregularly  built,  and  devoid 
of  decent  architecture.  The  system  of  leasehold 
tenure  under  revaluation  leases«destroys  any  incen- 
tive to  improve  the  property.  For  the  owner  him- 
self need  not  take  the  trouble  to  build,  and  the 
tenant  has  only  a  terminable  interest  in  the  prop- 
erty. The  value  of  the  land  is  constantly  rising, 
and  the  instinct  of  the  owner  everywhere  is  to 
hold  on  to  his  property  in  the  hope  of  still  further 
advances.  Inasmuch  as  on  the  expiration  of  the 
lease  all  of  the  improvements  placed  upon  the  land 
pass  to  the  landlord  without  compensation,  the 
tenant  builds  only  for  his  immediate  necessities. 
No  one  has  a  pecuniary  interest  in  beautifying  the 
city,  and  English  architecture  has  suffered  in  con- 
sequence. 

The  cities  are  lacking  in  open  spaces  and  parks 
for  the  same  reason.  Except  under  special  legisla- 
tion, land  cannot  be  acquired  for  public  use  by  com- 
pulsory purchase,  and  the  prices  demanded  by  the 
owner  make  voluntary  purchase  difficult  and  very 
expensive.  To  this  is  added  the  hostility  of  the 
rate-paying  classes,  already  heavily  burdened  by 


THE  DEAD  HAND  OF  THE  LAND         •  265 

the  exemption  of  much  of  the  property  from  taxa- 
tion and  the  heavy  obligations  of  health,  cleanli- 
ness, and  education.  This  still  further  restrains 
the  Town  Councils  in  their  efforts  to  adorn  the 
municipalities  with  fine  buildings,  parks,  or  open 
spaces. 

The  monopoly  of  the  land  and  its  exemption  from 
taxation  also  explains  the  terrible  tenement  con- 
ditions of  the  English  city.  Few  places  in  Europe 
compare  in  wretchedness  with  the  slums  of  the 
smaller  British  towns.  And  the  larger  ";ties  are 
much  worse.  The  cities  are  cramped  and  confined 
within  the  smallest  possible  area.  The  compari- 
son of  the  population  and  the  corporate  areas  of 
several  English  and  American  cities  indicates  how 
fortunate  we  are  in  this  respect 

GREAT  BRITAIN. 
Towns.  Population.      Area,  Acres. 

Administrative  County  of  London. . .  4,536,541  75,520 

Glasgow 781,000  12,688 

Liverpool   710,337  17,792 

Manchester  543,827  13,654 

Birmingham  522,204  12,639 

Leeds   443,599  21,572 

Sheffield   426,686  23,662 

UNITED  STATES  (Estimated,  1903). 

New  York 3,716,139  209,218 

Chicago 1,873,880  114,932 

Philadelphia 1,367,716  81,833 

St.  Louis 612,279  39,276 

Baltimore   531,313  19,303 

Cleveland    414,950  22,180 

Pittsburg 345,043  18,171 

The  housing  conditions  of  the  British  people  are 
little  better  than  barbarous.     This  is  true  in  the 


266.  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

country  districts  as  well  as  in  the  cities.  The  mas- 
ter of  the  hounds  of  a  county  is  much  more  solic- 
itous of  his  kennels  than  he  is  of  the  tenants  on 
his  estate.  It  has  been  estimated  that  twenty-two 
per  cent,  of  Scottish  families  and  thirty-three  per 
cent,  of  the  families  of  Glasgow  live  in  homes  of  one 
room  each.  Sir  Robert  Giffen  estimates  that  8,000,- 
000  of  Great  Britain's  41,000,000  of  people  live  on 
an  income  of  less  than  a  pound  a  week.  Nearly 
one-half  of  these  persons  live  in  dwellings  which 
are  unsanitary,  airless,  sunless,  and  unfitted  for  hu- 
man habitation.  In  London,  not  less  than  two  and 
one-half  million  people  live  under  conditions  badly 
needing  improvement.  Of  the  760,000  people  in 
Glasgow,  91,205  are  living  at  the  rate  of  from  three 
to  twelve  persons  in  a  room,  while  194,284  are  liv- 
ing in  the  condition  of  from  five  to  twelve  persons 
in  two  rooms.  Numerous  investigations  conducted 
by  the  Land  Law  Reform  Association  into  the  con- 
dition of  English  villages  show  that  the  homes  of 
the  countryside  are  little,  if  any,  better  than  the 
tenements  of  the  cities.  At  least  one-half  of  the 
cottages  are  described  as  bad,  and  many  of  them 
are  overcrowded  in  the  grossest  possible  manner. 

In  the  cities  the  population  is  herded  into  the 
smallest  possible  space.  Tenements  are  ^uilt  close 
up  to  the  open  fields  of  the  country.  There  is  no 
inducement  to  the  landlord  to  sell.  There  is  every 
inducement  to  hold  tight  to  the  land.     It  is  this 


THE  DEAD  HAND  OF  THE  LAND  267 

fact  that  explains  the  unparalleled  congestion  of  the 
English  city.1  Land  just  beyond  the  city's  walls, 
badly  needed  for  homes,  is  held  from  use.  by  the 

'In  a  recent  volume,  entitled  "Municipal  Ownership  in  Great 
Britain,"  Dr.  Hugo  Meyer,  of  Chicago  University,  condemns 
the  English  towns  for  the  terrible  tenement  conditions  which 
prevail.  He  lays  the  congestion  at  the  door  of  municipal  own- 
ership, and  the  policy  of  a  zone  system  of  street  railway  fares, 
and  the  desire  of  the  towns  to  make  money  out  of  these 
enterprises. 

It  is  difficult  to  understand  how  even  a  casual  observer, 
with  any  knowledge  of  English  conditions,  could  have  ven- 
tured to  lay  this  condition  at  the  door  of  municipal  owner- 
ship. In  the  first  place,  the  zone  system  of  street  railway 
fares  was  universal  in  Great  Britain  before  the  towns  took 
over  the  tramways.  They  are  a  survival  of  private  owner- 
ship to  which  the  people  have  grown  accustomed  by  long 
use.  They  were  not  introduced  by  the  Town  Councils,  but 
by  the  private  companies. 

Further  than  this,  no  street  railways  were  built  in  England 
prior  to  the  act  of  1870.  The  English  town  was  a  cramped 
and  congested  thing  long  before  tramways  were  thought  of. 
They  have  been  afflicted  witli  tenements  and  slums  ever  since 
the  rush  to  the  city  began.  In  so  far  as  relief  has  been  of- 
fered through  improved  transportation  facilities,  it  has  been 
offered  by  the  Town  Councils,  who  have  done  something  to 
relieve  tenement  conditions  through  the  extension  of  the  tram- 
way lines.  Private  companies,  animated  only  by  a  desire  for 
dividends,  were  as  indifferent  to  housing  conditions  as  are 
the  street  railways  of  any  American  city.  But  the  real  ex- 
planation of  the  slum,  of  the  "brutality"  which  Dr.  Meyer 
ascribes  to  the  Town  Councils,  is  traceable  to  the  utter  inability 
of  the  cities  to  buy  the  land  or  the  people  to  obtain  a  foothold 
in  all  England  except  by  the  permission  of  some  untaxed  land- 
lord, who  holds  his  land,  not  that  it  may  be  used  by  humanity, 
but  that  he  may  derive  the  last  shilling  of  competitive  rent 
from  its  lease.  This  is  the  explanation  of  the  English  slum. 
For  as  rapidly  as  the  cities  opened  up  new  land  for  occupancy 
its  value  increased  immediately  by  virtue  of  its  availability 
for  building  purposes.  Under  these  conditions,  the  cities  are 
helpless  in  their  struggle  to  relieve  the  tenement  problem. 


268  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

owner  awaiting  for  the  necessities  of  the  people  to 
enable  him  to  exact  his  own  price.  All  of  the  city's 
improvements,  every  increase  in  population,  flow 
into  the  pocket  of  the  landlord,  who  sits  indolently 
by  and  refuses  to  permit  the  city  to  expand  over  his 
estate  except  on  his  own  terms.  The  opening  of 
streets,  the  construction  of  sewers,  the  coming  of 
fire,  police,  and  health  protection  are  paid  for  out 
of  the  tenant's  purse.  The  benefits  all  go  to  the 
landlord's.  For  they  still  further  enhance  the  value 
of  his  property. 

The  injustice  of  these  conditions  came  to  the  no- 
tice of  the  Town  Councils  through  the  development 
of  their  tramway  lines.  The  cities  were  oppressed 
by  the  condition  of  their  poor.  The  slums  were  a 
menace  to  the  health  of  the  community.  To  clean 
them  up  it  was  necessary  to  purchase  the  land  from 
the  slum  lords,  for  they  would  not  permit  Parlia- 
ment to  pass  any  legislation  compelling  the  owners 
to  do  so.  If  the  city  undertook  the  task,  homes 
had  to  be  found  for  the  dispossessed  elsewhere.  Oth- 
erwise, the  efforts  of  the  Council  led  to  even  worse 
overcrowding  in  some  other  portion  of  the  city.  So 
the  Councils  decided  to  extend  their  tramways  out 
into  the  country,  to  open  up  suburban  residences 
for  the  people.  But  the  effect  of  this  extension  of 
the  tram  lines  was  so  to  increase  the  value  of  the 
suburban  land  that  it  was  out  of  the  reach  of  those 
who  needed  it.    Instead  of  rents  going  down  any- 


THE  DEAD  HAND  OE  THE  LAND     269 

where,  they  went  up  in  the  new  territory.  So  re- 
sponsive, in  fact,  were  land  values  to  the  develop- 
ment of  the  tramway  lines,  that  a  decrease  of  $5.00 
a  year  in  fares  was  followed  immediately  by  an 
increase  of  $5.00  a  year  in  rents.  The  city  lost 
money  on  the  operation  of  its  new  lines,  and  the 
only  gainer  was  the  landlord.  Thus  the  towns  were 
thwarted  in  their  efforts  to  solve  the  tenement  prob- 
lem through  the  municipalisation  of  the  tram  lines. 
In  some  cities  the  Councils  obtained  powers  to 
buy  up  slum  areas  and  erect  upon  them  model  dwel- 
lings for  the  relief  of  the  congestion.  In  such  pur- 
chases the  value  of  the  land  was  increased  by  the 
very  overcrowding  that  menaced  the  community. 
For  the  Town  Councils  had  to  pay  the  capitalised 
value  of  the  property  used  as  a  slum.  If  it  were  bad- 
ly overcrowded  it  had  a  greater  value.  Landlords 
found  it  profitable  to  create  a  slum  in  order  to  force 
the  city  to  demolish  it.  When  the  city  purchased 
such  an  area,  and  razed  the  tenements,  it  drove  the 
occupants  elsewhere,  and  this  increased  the  value 
of  other  holdings,  which  in  turn  had  to  be  bought 
out  at  excessive  figures.  Thus  the  efforts  of  the  city 
to  improve  the  condition  of  the  poor  involves  a 
heavy  burden  on  the  rate-payers,  while  the  holdings 
of  the  untaxed  landlords  whose  greed  is  responsible 
for  the  city's  suffering,  are  greatly  increased  in 
value.  Every  betterment,  every  park  improvement, 
every  area  opened  up,  every  cheapening  of  street 


270  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

railways,  gas  or  water  service,  increases  the  value 
of  the  land  which  contributes  nothing  to  the  im- 
provement. 

Thus  the  cities  are  bound  like  Gulliver.  Every 
effort,  whether  inspired  by  philanthropy  or  thrift, 
only  increases  the  value  of  the  land.  And  the 
most  fundamental  problem  of  city  life,  the  decent 
housing  of  the  people,  can  never  be  achieved  so  long 
as  it  is  to  the  interest  of  the  landlord  to  sit  idly  on 
his  holdings  until  the  demands  of  life  itself  force 
the  erection  of  tenement  blocks  immediately  to  be- 
come another  menace  to  the  community. 

The  monopoly  which  the  landlords  enjoy  is  the 
most  perfect  in  the  world,  and  it  includes  all  others. 
For  the  people  have  no  other  alternative  but  to 
accept  its  decision.  No  combination,  no  gentle- 
man's agreement  is  needed  to  enforce  its  will.  All 
that  is  arranged  by  the  laws  of  the  land  and  by  an 
immemorial  custom  which  has  all  the  sanction  of 
law. 

The  dead  hand  of  landlordism  is  strangling  the 
English  city.  It  is  smothering  agriculture  and  in- 
dustry. It  is  impoverishing  the  people.  Not  only 
are  the  farmers  rack-rented  out  of  what  they  pro- 
duce, they  are  excluded  by  millions  from  the  soil 
inviting  to  occupancy.  The  towns  have  sought  per- 
mission from  Parliament  to  buy  up  the  land  sur- 
rounding the  towns  in  order  that  they  might  retain 
the  unearned  increment  from  the  city's  growth,  and 


THE  DEAD  HAND  OF  THE  LAND  271 

at  the  same  time  make  provision  for  the  housing  of 
their  people.  Such  a  policy  has  been  adopted  in 
many  German  towns  with  great  success.  But  Par- 
liament has  never  been  willing  to  permit  the  in- 
creasing treasure,  which  flows  automatically  to  its 
members'  pockets  to  pass  from  its  control.  Lat- 
terly, the  agitation  of  the  towns  has  taken  a  new 
turn.  Unable  to  buy  the  land,  the  cities  have  or- 
ganised to  tax  the  value  of  the  land  which  they 
themselves  have  created. 

The  land  and  the  things  appurtenant  to  the  land 
form  the  physical  basis  of  British  politics.  The 
concentration  of  land  ownership  in  a  few  hands, 
and  those  hands  in  control  of  Parliament,  explains 
the  system  of  taxation  which  has  come  into  exist- 
ence, as  well  as  its  permanence  in  the  face  of  its 
manifest  injustice  and  injury  to  the  life  of  the  coun- 
try. Just  as  the  bulk  of  the  imperial  taxes  formerly 
paid  by  the  barons  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
Crown  have  been  shifted  from  the  land  and  cast 
upon  consumption,  so  the  burdens  of  local  govern- 
ment have  been  shifted  on  to  the  occupier,  where 
they  ultimately  rest. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT— THE  SANCTUARY 
OF  PRIVILEGE 

Many  Americans  are  convinced  that  their  gov- 
ernment is  pretty  bad.  Many  believe  it  is  worse 
than  that  of  any  country  of  western  Europe.  But 
we  do  not  know  other  countries  as  we  are  coming  to 
know  our  own.  If  we  did,  we  should  probably  see 
that  it  is  not  so  much  in  the  badness  as  in  the 
amount  of  our  knowledge  of  the  badness  that 
America  differs  from  the  rest  of  the  world.  The 
things  that  have  become  a  commonplace  with  us 
other  peoples  do  not  know.  But  we  have  been  made 
very  wise  through  the  disclosures  of  the  past  few 
years,  wiser  than  any  people  on  earth.  We  have 
washed  all  our  linen  in  public,  where  it  should  be 
washed.  And  we  have  found  that,  far  from  being 
the  most  easy-going  of  people,  we  are  very  exacting. 
We  care  a  great  deal  about  politics.  We  insist 
upon  knowing  what  is  going  on  behind  the  scenes. 
America  is  really  intolerant  of  the  things  that  are 
bad.  We  want  things  right.  Not  merely  pretty 
good — but  right. 

272 


THE  BKITISH  PARLIAMENT  273 

But  there  is  no  one  to  tell  other  peoples  what  we 
in  America  are  all  beginning  to  know.  Most  peo- 
ples live  in  fear  of  government  as  the  ancient  He- 
brews lived  in  fear  of  God.  In  England  the  govern- 
ing class  enjoys  a  sanctity  of  which  we  have  no  con- 
ception. There  is  nothing  quite  like  it  in  modern 
Europe.  For  England  is  still  feudal  to  the  core. 
It  is  true  the  obligations  of  personal  service  have 
been  abolished!  Feudalism  has  been  modernised  by 
trade,  commerce,  and  manhood  suffrage.  But  the 
relations  of  classes  are  those  of  the  fifteenth  rather 
than  of  the  twentieth  century.  A  caste  like  that  of 
India  runs  through  the  structure  of  society.  Above 
is  the  landed  aristocracy,  who  own  almost  all  the 
land.  Less  than  8000  of  them  alone  own  one- 
half  of  the  soil  of  Great  Britain.  They,  also,  are 
stockholders  in  the  railways,  the  mines,  the  ship- 
ping, and  the  franchise  corporations.  They  finance 
the  nation.  They  employ  the  barristers  and  the 
solicitors.  They  control  the  Church  of  England  and 
the  press,  and  through  them  make  public  opinion. 
From  out  the  gentry  come  the  clergy  of  the  estab- 
lished church,  many  of  the  professional  men,  and 
the  leisure  class.  The  captain  of  industry,  the  mer- 
chant prince,  the  successful  professional  man  or 
politician,  is  constantly  knocking  at  the  door  of 
this  very  exclusive  class  for  admission.  Even  the 
radical  finds  it  difficult  to  resist  its  blandishments, 
its  softness,  its  assurances. 


274  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

This  is  not  so  true  of  Scotland  and  Ireland.  But 
this  is  England,  and  England  rules  Great  Britain. 
The  mother  country  is  feudal  in  its  organisation 
as  well  as  in  its  instincts.  Out  of  the  aristocracy 
come  many  of  the  officers  of  the  army  and  the  navy. 
The  church  and  the  civil  service  are  recruited  from 
its  ranks.  It  patronises  business  which  it  professes 
to  scorn,  but  lends  its  name  to  questionable  finance. 
And  into  this  age-long  caste,  the  most  sympathetic 
in  western  Europe,  all  the  upper  classes  seek  to 
enter. 

Such  a  class  is  almost  as  immune  from  criticism 
as  is  the  Czar  or  the  Kaiser.  And  this  is  the  class 
which  governs.  No  wonder  that  England  is  com- 
plaisant. No  wonder  her  press  is  filled  with  disgust 
over  the  corruption  of  American  politics  and  busi- 
ness. And  we  are  daily  being  told  that  England  is 
the  country  of  all  others  upon  which  we  should 
model  our  conduct. 

It  would  seem  hazardous  to  challenge  a  compari- 
son of  English  and  American  politics.  It  would 
seem  even  more  hazardous  to  assert  that  there  is 
more  hope  from  the  United  States  Senate  than  there 
is  from  the  British  Parliament.  For  English  poli- 
tics are  assumed  to  be  the  most  democratic  in  their 
forms  of  any  country  in  the  world.  And  Parlia- 
ment is  treated  by  all  as  above  reproach.  But  were 
British  politics  subjected  to  the  same  searching  in- 
vestigation that  Congress  and  the  American  States 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  275 

have  had  to  face,  there  would  be  disclosed  a 
condition  which  differs  from  our  own  only  in 
its  greater  respectability  and  its  more  perfect  ad- 
justment to  use  by  the  privileged  classes  who 
govern. 

Xot  the  least  of  the  gains  which  have  come  to  us 
from  the  disclosures  of  the  past  few  years  is  the 
understanding  that  bribery  is  not  the  only  form 
which  corruption  may  assume.  Bribery  has  become 
the  least  effective  means  of  securing  public  plun- 
der. It  is  the  method  of  petty  grafting.  Then,  too, 
it  is  no  longer  safe.  We  have  broadened  our  views 
of  official  responsibility.  We  have  learned  that  an 
entire  party  may  be  purchased  by  campaign  con- 
tributions, and  that  the  code  of  partisan  ethics  re- 
quires that  the  pledges  of  the  managers  be  carried 
out.  The  boss  is  also  seen  in  a  new  light.  We  used 
to  think  of  him  as  a  ward  heeler,  risen  to  power 
through  his  service  to  the  criminal  classes  below. 
We  now  see  him  as  he  is,  a  big  broker — the  repre- 
sentative of  business  interests  which  want  things. 
In  many  States  he  has  been  elevated  by  business  to 
the  United  States  Senate.  In  other  States  he  makes 
senators.  lie  has  become  a  cog  in  the  machine  of 
business.  He  is  eminently  respectable;  but  to  him 
and  his  makers  business  is  the  main  tiling,  politics 
is  secondary.  In  this  process  of  control,  corruption 
has  assumed  a  far  more  effective  form  than  that  of 
bribery.    It  is  also  much  safer.    Privileged  business 


276  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

is  now  sending  its  representatives  to  Congress.  It 
has  placed  its  lawyers  on  the  Bench ;  its  local  attor- 
neys and  employees  in  the  State  Assemblies.  The 
desire  for  privilege,  in  the  form  of  franchises,  free- 
dom from  taxation  and  regulation,  a  protective 
tariff  and  subsidies,  are  the  controlling  motives  in 
American  politics. 

This  marks  a  revolution  in  our  democracy.  The 
means  employed  by  those  who  want  things  are  no 
less  corrupt  than  the  more  vulgar  offenses  of  an 
earlier  day.  They  involve  no  hazard  of  the  penal 
code,  no  loss  of  respectability.  They  are  far  more 
sinister  and  much  more  costly  to  our  institutions. 
Through  these  means  the  nation,  State,  and  city 
have  entered  into  partnership  with  privileged  busi- 
ness. This  partnership  involves  the  control  of  the 
people's  government  by  an  economic  class.  This  is 
the  final  form  which  corruption  always  assumes. 
It  is  a  form  with  which  all  nations  and  all  history 
is  familiar. 

The  bribe-taker  and  the  bribe-giver,  the  boss  and 
the  hired  lobby  are  practically  unknown  in  Great 
Britain.  For  this  reason  we  have  assumed  that 
Parliament  was  free  from  corruption.  As  time  goes 
on,  America,  too,  will  be  free  from  this  vulgarity. 
Our  politics  are  fast  becoming  a  merger  of  busi- 
ness interests  seeking  privilege.  But  an  examina- 
tion of  English  politics,  as  relentless  as  that  to 
which  our  own  has  been  subjected,  will  disclose  a 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  277 

systematised  use  of  the  government  that  is  bolder 
and  far  more  perfect  than  anything  with  which  we 
are  familiar.  In  England,  the  things  we  protest 
against  are  identified  with  high  station  and  social 
distinction.  They  are  protected  by  the  press  and 
public  opinion.  They  are  shielded  by  a  veneration 
for  the  upper  classes  that  shrinks  from  criticism. 
But  beneath  the  surface  corruption,  in  the  sense 
that  we  are  coming  to  know  corruption,  flourishes 
in  Parliament.  We  recognise  it  in  America.  Great 
Britain  does  not  suspect  it.  We  are  rebellious.  She 
is  self-righteous.  With  them  corruption  is  fixed 
and  established.  With  us  it  is  changing.  And  the 
cost  of  this  class  control  to  the  people  is  evidenced 
by  their  appalling  poverty.  The  gentry,  with  their 
alleged  noblesse  oblige,  have  made  the  people  of 
Great  Britain  poor.  They  have  famished  Ireland, 
and  are  bringing  England  and  Scotland  to  a  state 
of  decay.  This  condition  is  perpetuated  by  the 
House  of  Lords.  However  the  opinion  of  the  coun- 
try may  change,  it  does  not  affect  this  hereditary 
body.  And  it  may  always  be  counted  on  to  protect 
its  own  interests. 

Up  to  the  last  election,  Parliament  was  instinct 
with  the  interests  of  the  great  plantation  owners. 
As  such  it  was  a  monopolistic  body.  It  repre- 
sented the  things  its  members  owned.  From  one- 
fifth  to  one-fourth  of  the  land  in  the  kingdom  is 
owned  by  the  peers,  who  number  about  six  hun- 


278  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

dred.  The  House  of  Lords  is  almost  exclusively  a 
landed  body.  The  land  owners  form  the  country 
gentry,  the  aristocracy  of  Great  Britain.1  The 
cabinet  of  Lord  Salisbury  was  a  family  ministry 
of  great  estate  owners.  For  nearly  a  century  the 
contest  for  the  control  of  the  government  has  been 
between  the  landed  aristocracy  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  commercial  classes  on  the  other,  both  of 
whom  were  seeking  privileges  of  some  sort.  But 
even  the  commercial  classes  have  taken  on  the 
colour  of  the  gentry. 

Modern  England  differs  from  other  aristocratic 
nations  of  Europe  only  in  the  fact  that  her  institu- 
tions are  democratic  in  form.  But  the  form  of  gov- 
ernment counts  for  little,  as  we  in  America  are 
coming  to  see.  And  the  class  which  rules  Great 
Britain  is  the  most  privileged  in  western  Europe, 
possibly  the  most  privileged  in  the  civilised  world. 
The  House  of  Lords  has  always  interposed  a  veto 
on  any  legislation  which  even  remotely  threatened 
its  interests.  Its  members  are  drawn  from  the  few 
thousand  families  that  have  ruled  Great  Britain 
from  the  advent  of  Parliamentary  government.  In 
1905  all  but  70  of  its  589  members  were  hereditary. 
The  remainder  were  higher  dignitaries  of  the 
Church  of  England,  or  Scottish  and  Irish  repre- 
sentative peers.     This  little  oligarchy  is  deaf  and 

^he  number  of  persons  in  Great  Britain  owning  more  than 
ten  acres  of  land  is  only  176,000.  Less  than  one  two-hundredths 
part  of  the  population  own  ten-elevenths  of  the  total  area. 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  279 

dumb  to  any  criticism.  It  is  ignorant  of  the  fact 
that  it  abuses  its  power.  A  change  in  parties  makes 
no  impression  upon  it.  It  remains  reactionary  in 
the  face  of  every  popular  demand.  The  landed 
gentry  think  themselves  to  be  the  government,  no 
matter  by  what  party  it  is  carried  on.  And  the 
average  Englishman  is  rather  pleased  to  think  that 
he  is  governed  by  his  betters.  He  rarely  questions 
this  assumption  of  power.1 

We  cannot  appreciate  the  sacrosanctity  of  land 
in  England  nor  the  dignity  which  its  ownership 
confers.  Nor  can  we  understand  its  standing  in 
Parliament,  before  the  law,  in  society,  and  in  the 
eyes  of  the  people.  All  classes  reflect  the  veneration 
which  land  ownership  confers.  There  is  nothing 
like  it  in  Europe.  For  there  is  no  country  that 
has  given  over  its  politics,  its  army,  its  established 
church,  and  all  of  the  avenues  of  advancement  to  the 

^'What  is  the  House  of  Lords?  Primarily  it  is  a  House  of 
Landlords.  The  landed  system  of  this  country  was  created 
in  order  to  make  the  Peers  the  owners  of  the  soil  and  the  lords 
of  the  land.  It  has  done  its  work.  According  to  Lord  Derby's 
return  of  1874-5,  525  peers  own  one-fourth  of  the  land  of 
England.    The  average  area  of  each  peer  is  about  38,000  acres. 

"This  is  no  natural  growth.  It  has  been  artificially  fostered 
for  nearly  nine  hundred  years.  The  landed  system  exists  to 
maintain  the  House  of  Lords,  and  the  ultima  ratio  of  the 
House  of  Lords  is  to  maintain  the  landed  system.  The  House 
of  Lords  is  a  mere  Tory  caucus  for  all  other  purposes  of  legis- 
lation. But  it  will  defeat  even  a  Tory  government  when  it 
attempts  to  reform  the  landed  system.  To  the  Peers  there  is 
one  thing  only  that  is  more  sacred  than  the  interests  of  the 
Tory  party.  That  is  its  own  interests  in  the  land." — "Peers 
or  People?"  by  W.  T.  Stead,  page  82. 


280  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

landed  gentry  as  has  Great  Britain.  All  this  has 
created  a  caste  system. 

In  spite  of  the  tremendous  growth  in  the  powers 
of  the  commercial  classes  during  the  last  two  gen- 
erations, but  little  real  impression  has  been  made 
upon  the  traditions  of  English  life.  Far  from  con- 
trolling Parliament  during  the  nineteenth  century, 
the  financial  interests  have  been  identified  with  the 
landed  gentry,  who  have  been  enriched  and  made 
more  powerful  by  the  infusion  of  wealth  which 
trade  and  commerce  have  brought  to  the  country. 
The  House  of  Commons  comes  very  largely  from 
the  land-owning  classes  and  those  who  reflect  its 
interests.  This  is  especially  true  when  the  Con- 
servative party  is  in  power.  A  glance  at  the  list  of 
the  members  of  the  lower  house  during  the  last  gov- 
ernment shows  a  surprisingly  large  number  of  land 
owners,  retired  army  officials,  country  gentlemen, 
barristers,  financiers,  ship  owners,  retired  gentle- 
men, and  younger  sons  of  the  nobility.  Bankers, 
brewers,  miners,  distillers,  and  railway  directors 
abound,  as  do  manufacturers  and  solicitors.  Those 
who  formed  "His  Majesty's  Chief  Officers  of  State," 
or  the  ministry,  were  overwhelmingly  from  the  aris- 
tocracy. This  is  far  less  true  of  the  Liberal  party 
now  in  power,  but  the  social,  political  and  profes- 
sional aspirations  of  all  classes  lend  them  very 
readily  to  the  desires  of  those  from  whom  all  ad- 
vancement is  to  be  obtained. 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  281 

It  is  this  that  gives  to  Great  Britain  its  caste-like 
organisation.  It  is  this  that  makes  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  United  Kingdom  a  class-conscious  aris- 
tocracy. Even  the  king  is  but  the  titular  repre- 
sentative of  the  aristocracy,  for  the  power  of  the 
Crown  has  passed  to  Parliament,  and  Parliament 
for  centuries  has  been  but  the  mouthpiece  of  the 
land-owning  classes.  To  what  extent  this  tradi- 
tional veneration  will  overawe  the  new  and  militant 
democracy  that  has  recently  come  into  existence, 
remains  to  be  seen.  Great  Britain  may  be  on  the 
eve  of  a  real  revolution,  a  revolution  which  seemed 
to  follow  the  ascendancy  of  the  mercantile  classes 
in  the  days  of  Bright  and  Cobden  in  the  early  half 
of  the  century.  But  that  ascendancy  was  short- 
lived. The  ambitions  of  the  trading  classes  were 
social  no  less  than  economic.  In  time  its  members 
and  their  interests  were  merged  into  those  of  the 
ancient  aristocracy.  It  was  only  a  third  estate 
movement  at  most,  and  its  ideals  were  those  of  a 
commercial  aristocracy  which  was  perfectly  content 
with  its  achievements  as  soon  as  its  most  insistent 
economic  and  social  demands  were  satisfied. 

Great  Britain  does  not  see  that  the  elass  which 
rules,  always  overwhelmingly  dominant  in  the 
House  of  Lords,  and  almost  equally  dominant  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  enjoys  the  most  perfect 
monopoly  in  the  modern  world ;  a  monopoly  far 
more  perfect,  and  infinitely  more  costly  to  the  peo- 


282  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

pie  than  the  coal  and  the  steel,  the  oil  and  the  cop- 
per, the  railway  and  the  franchise  corporations  with 
which  we  in  America  are  oppressed.  For  the  mon- 
opoly which  the  land  owners  of  Great  Britain  enjoy 
includes  all  these  as  the  merest  incident  to  the  own- 
ership of  the  soil.  Great  estates  exist  which  in- 
clude metropolitan  cities  and  villages,  coal  mines 
and  quarries,  estates  which  often  run  into  the  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  acres,  and  spread  over  en- 
tire counties,  with  their  villages,  towns,  and  local 
political  agencies. 

It  would  be  easy  to  demonstrate  this  dominion 
of  a  small  but  imperious  class  line  by  line  from 
English  history.  The  British  government  is  really 
merged  into  the  economic  interests  of  the  aristoc- 
racy. This  class  interest  is  best  seen  in  the  means 
adopted  for  relieving  landed  property  from  taxa- 
tion. The  history  of  the  tax  laws  of  Great  Britain 
read  like  a  chapter  from  the  old  regime  in  France, 
or  the  contemporary  history  of  America. 

In  the  closing  years  of  the  seventeenth  century 
the  incidents  of  feudalism  were  abolished.  The  long 
controversy  between  the  Crown  and  the  Barons 
came  to  an  end.  The  Barons  desired  to  be  free  from 
their  feudal  obligations  paid  to  the  King.  The  King 
accepted  a  tax  on  the  land  equal  to  one-fifth  of  its 
annual  rental  value  in  lieu  of  the  feudal  services 
and  the  burdens  of  supporting  the  Crown,  which  the 
large  land  owners  had  rendered  for  centuries  as 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  283 

a  condition  of  their  holdings.  To  this  tax  was 
added  an  excise  system,  which  was  designed  to  re- 
lieve the  land  of  its  feudal  dues  and  to  throw  the 
burdens  of  the  government  on  to  the  backs  of  the 
poor.  A  century  later,  during  the  Napoleonic  wars, 
Parliament  decided  that  the  land  should  never  be 
revalued,  and  that  the  tax  should  ever  remain  at 
about  #10,000,000.  By  subsequent  enactments  this 
amount  was  still  further  reduced  to  $3,750,000,  at 
which  sum  it  remains  to  this  day.  The  land  has 
not  been  revalued  since  1798.  It  is  estimated  that 
the  land  has  increased  in  value  nearly  2000  per 
cent,  since  that  time;  but  those  who  own  the  land 
have  never  permitted  it  to  be  reassessed.  Even 
though  metropolitan  cities  have  sprung  into  exist- 
ence, and  land  which  was  then  worth  but  a  few 
pounds  per  acre  is  now  worth  ten  times  that  amount 
per  front  foot,  it  is  still  assessed  as  it  was  when 
Great  Britain  was  an  agricultural  country.1 

The  land  underlying  London  is  valued  to-day  as 
it  was  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Much  of  it  is 
on  the  tax  duplicate  as  the  hunting  preserves  of 
some  great  estate.  It  is  as  though  Manhattan  Island 
were  still  valued,  for  purposes  of  taxation,  as  it  was 


'In  a  sense  the  land  that  is  improved  is  assessed  for  local 
purposes.  For  the  rental  value  of  the  premises  includes  the 
value  of  the  land  as  well  as  the  buildings.  The  evil  is  that, 
the  tax  is  not  upon  the  value  of  the  land  irrespective  of  im- 
provements, as  in  America.  It  is  this  that  permits  its  reserve 
from  use  and  speculative  holding. 


284  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

when  the  City  Hall  Park  was  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  town.  The  same  is  true  of  the  great  mineral 
resources  of  Great  Britain  which  have  come  into 
use  during  the  past  hundred  years.  Were  the  land 
of  Great  Britain  revalued,  as  is  the  land  of  every 
American  State,  the  land-owning  class  which  con- 
trols the  government  would  be  paying  nearly  $200,- 
000,000  a  year  instead  of  $3,750,000.  They  would 
pay  this  sum  if  the  rate  of  four  shillings  in  the 
pound,  which  was  the  rate  agreed  upon  in  1692, 
were  adhered  to.1 

It  is  to  shield  their  property  from  taxation  and 
regulation  that  the  railways,  mine  owners,  and 
franchise  corporations  enter  politics  in  America. 
But  nowhere  do  their  law-made  privileges  compare 

JThe  annual  rental  of  the  land  of  Great  Britain  which  ia 
paid  to  the  landlords  has  been  estimated  at  something  over 
200,000,000  pounds,  or  nearly  $1,000,000,000.  By  some  it  has 
been  placed  as  high  as  $1,250,000,000.  A  tax  of  four  shillings 
on  the  pound  of  annual  rental  would  yield  from  $200,000,000 
to  $250,000,000.  This  is  equivalent  to  a  tax  of  about  one  per 
cent,  on  the  selling  value  of  the  land.  For  the  value  of  the 
land  of  Great  Britain,  with  the  mines  and  resources,  is  not  far 
from  $25,000,000,000.  It  pays  directly  in  taxation  about  $3,750,- 
000,  or  about  two-tenths  of  one  mill  on  the  selling  price.  Were 
a  rate  of  one  per  cent,  imposed,  which  is  below  the  average 
rate  in  America,  the -land  of  Great  Britain  would  yield  about 
fifty  times  what  it  does  to-day. 

It  is  true  that  the  income  of  the  land  owner  is  subject  to  the 
income  tax,  as  well  as  the  legacy  and  succession  duties.  But 
so  is  all  other  property.  But  the  great  bulk  of  the  revenues 
of  Great  Britain,  whether  for  local  or  imperial  purposes,  is 
paid  by  the  poorer  classes  and  the  industry  of  the  country. 
This  is  more  true  of  Great  Britain  than  it  is  of  America,  al- 
though our  Federal  revenues  are  wholly  derived  from  con- 
sumption taxes. 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  285 

in  magnitude  with  those  of  the  land-owning  class 
in  control  of  Parliament. 

The  same  indifference  to  every  consideration  save 
their  own  advantage  characterises  the  attitude  of 
the  English  aristocracy  toward  other  legislation. 
Not  content  with  avoiding  imperial  taxes,  which  the 
barons  bore  up  to  the  time  of  Charles  II,  they  have 
also  relieved  themselves  from  local  taxation.  For 
the  local  rates  are  assessed  against  the  tenant.  They 
are  paid  by  the  occupier.  The  owner  of  the  land 
pays  nothing,  or  next  to  nothing.  And,  worst  of 
all,  property  is  taxed  for  local  purposes  not  on 
its  selling  value,  but  at  whatever  the  landlord  may 
happen  to  get  out  of  it  in  the  form  of  rent.  If 
he  does  not  see  fit  to  rent  it,  it  pays  no  taxes  at  all. 

This  throwing  of  the  taxes  upon  the  tenant,  too, 
means  that  labour  bears  the  bulk  of  the  cost  of 
local  government.  It  is  shifted  on  to  thrift  and 
enterprise.  A  premium  is  placed  upon  thriftless- 
ness.  The  slum  is  encouraged,  while  he  that  la- 
bours is  punished  for  his  energy. 

For  years  the  British  cities  have  been  beating  at 
the  doors  of  Parliament,  demanding  relief  from  the 
dead  hand  of  the  landlord.  This  is  the  great  eco- 
nomic struggle  in  Britain  to-day.  More  than  five 
hundred  local  authorities  have  organised  into  a 
League  for  the  Taxation  of  Land  Values.  The  move- 
ment was  promoted  by  the  Town  Council  of  Glas- 
gow.   It  has  already  appropriated  $15,000  to  carry 


286  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

on  the  agitation.  The  London  County  Council  has 
been  in  the  forefront  of  the  fight.  Not  that  very 
much  has  been  asked.  The  local  authorities  have 
only  sought  permission  to  separately  value  the  land 
apart  from  the  buildings  or  improvements,  and  to 
impose  a  special  tax  upon  the  value  of  the  land 
due  to  the  growth  of  population  and  public  expen- 
diture, in  order  that  they  might  participate  in  the 
unearned  increment  due  to  the  city's  growth.  They 
want  to  find  homes  for  their  people.  They  are  ask- 
ing permission  to  have  the  land  valued  in  order 
that  a  tax  may  be  imposed  on  its  capital  value  as 
is  done  in  America.  But  up  to  the  present  time 
Parliament  has  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  the  demands 
of  the  cities.  Its  members  are  making  use  of  the 
trust  reposed  in  them  to  increase  their  own  rev- 
enues through  tax  evasions  by  hundreds  of  millions 
of  dollars  each  year. 

This  class  instinct  of  the  landed  gentry  ramifies 
into  all  legislation.  It  is  the  note  which  recurs 
in  all  fiscal  measures,  in  all  slum  clearance,  in  rail- 
way regulation,  in  the  attempts  of  the  cities  to  buy 
the  franchise  corporations,  in  all  the  big  enterprises 
upon  which  the  cities  are  seeking  to  enter.  When 
the  railways  of  Great  Britain  were  constructed, 
Parliament  did  not  pass  a  general  law  under  which 
any  company  might  build  a  road.  Nor  were  they 
given  the  right  of  eminent  domain,  a  privilege  en- 
joyed by  all  transportation  companies  in  America, 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  287 

Every  railroad  bad  to  secure  a  special  act.  It  had 
to  go  to  Parliament  for  another  act  for  every  little 
extension.  Those  who  promoted  the  road  had  to 
indicate  its  routes  and  termini.  Before  the  charter 
was  granted  they  had  to  arrange  to  buy  the  land 
from  the  owner  at  private  sale.  They  had  to  buy 
it  from  the  members  of  Parliament  from  whom 
they  were  asking  a  charter.  And  these  gentlemen 
made  good  bargains.  They  asked  many  times  the 
value  of  their  land.  And  they  got  it.  Otherwise, 
the  railway  got  no  charter.1  The  railways  of  Great 
Britain  are  capitalised  at  f  165,000  a  mile  of  single 
track.  This  is  three  times  the  inflated  capitalisa- 
tion of  the  American  railways,  and  from  six  to  eight 
times  their  estimated  cost  of  reproduction.  The 
paid-up  capital  is  about  six  billion  dollars  for  21,- 
500  miles,  as  against  about  eleven  billions,  the  capi- 
tal stock  and  bond  val»«  of  our  214,000  miles.  The 
landlords  of  Great  Britain  are  said  to  have  received 
at  least  $400,000,000  in  excess  of  the  actual  value 
of  their  land  through  these  means.    It  was  no  un- 

*A  railway  company  has  no  general  right  to  file  its  articles 
of  incorporation,  as  is  done  in  America,  and  having  done  so, 
proceed  at  once  to  acquire  by  compulsory  purchase  such  land 
as  it  needs  for  its  right  of  way.  Parliament  is  very  deliberate 
in  the  matter.  Hearings  are  had  as  to  the  necessity  of  the 
road,  as  to  its  routes  and  terminii.  Persons  opposed  to  its 
building  appear  before  the  committees  and  present  their  objec- 
tions. But  after  the  charter  has  been  granted,  then  the  com- 
pany can  serve  notice  on  any  landowner  who  will  not  sell  his 
land  voluntarily,  in  the  form  of  a  "notice  to  treat."  Under 
this  procedure  it  is  possible  for  the  company  to  take  such 
land  as  it  may  need  by  compulsory  purchase. 


288  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

common  thing  for  a  company  to  pay  from  $20,000 
to  $40,000  a  mile  for  the  right  of  way  alone.  The 
members  of  Parliament  made  use  of  their  position 
to  exact  such  terms  as  they  saw  fit.  By  means  of 
the  sums  received  for  their  land  and  subsequent 
purchases  the  landlords  remain  the  controlling 
owners  in  English  railways  to-day.  Hundreds  of 
the  members  of  Parliament  are  directors  and  stock- 
holders. Having  enriched  themselves  by  the  means 
described,  they  now  strive  to  protect  the  railways 
from  any  regulation  on  the  part  of  the  state.  The 
railways  in  Great  Britain  are  far  more  oppressive 
than  they  are  in  America.  Statistics  show  that  the 
average  charge  for  freight  per  mile  is  about  three 
times  that  charged  in  America,  And  any  redress 
is  much  more  difficult.  For  the  water  in  the 
English  railways  is  not  the  result  of  stock  jobbing ; 
to  a  considerable  extent  at  least  it  represents  the 
greed  of  the  land  owners,  who  made  use  of  their 
power  in  Parliament  to  secure  extortionate  prices 
for  their  land.1 

*Railway  construction  in  Great  Britain  is  very  much  more 
substantial  than  it  is  in  America,  while  the  costs  of  the  termi- 
nals were  undoubtedly  very  much  greater.  In  addition  grade 
crossings  are  elaborately  protected,  while  human  life  is  safe- 
guarded by  every  possible  means.  All  of  these  elements  en- 
tered into  the  cost  of  construction  as  well  as  the  capitalisation, 
and  must  now  be  considered  in  the  matter  of  any  comparison 
of  costs  as  well  as  of  rates. 

A  controversial  correspondence  took  place  in  the  London 
Times  in  1902  over  the  relative  burdens  of  freight  rates  in 
America  and  Great  Britain.  It  was  maintained  by  the  British 
writer  that,  all  things  considered,  the  British  rates  were  no 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  289 

Members  of  Parliament  also  are  interested  in 
or  represent  the  franchise  corporations.  They  are 
stockholders  or  directors  in  the  gas,  water,  elec- 
tricity, and  tramway  undertakings.  The  cities  do 
not  grant  the  franchises  themselves.  Parliament 
makes  the  grant  in  each  individual  city.  Parlia- 
ment also  retains  all  power  of  regulation.  It  fixes 
the  terms  of  purchase  by  the  cities.  This  is  some- 
times done  by  general,  sometimes  by  special  acts. 
But  due  regard  is  always  shown  for  the  stockhold- 
ers. For  example,  the  Borough  of  St.  Marylebone, 
one  of  the  boroughs  of  London,  became  dissatisfied 
with  the  private  electric  lighting  plant.  Parlia- 
ment would  not  permit  it  to  erect  a  competing  plant 
of  its  own,  so  the  Council  opened  negotiations  with 
the  company.  The  borough  offered  $3,000,000  for 
the  plant,  which  was  in  excess  of  its  structural 
value.  The  company  demanded  $4,000,000.  This 
the  Council  declined  to  pay,  and  decided  to  submit 
the  matter  to  arbitration,  as  provided  by  law  in 
case  of  dispute.  The  referees  adopted  a  valuation 
of  their  own.  But  it  was  not  a  compromise  one. 
They  decided  that  the  plant,  with  its  franchise,  was 
worth  $6,250,000,  or  two  and  one-quarter  millions 
more  than  the  company  itself  had  asked.    To  this 

higher  than  they  are  in  this  country.  The  American  corre- 
spondent presented  statistics  to  demonstrate  that,  measured 
by  ton-mile  charges,  the  rates  in  Great  Britain  averaged  from 
five  to  ten  times  what  they  do  in  the  United  States  for  the 
same  service. 


290  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

they  added  f 2,000,000  for  a  generating  station,  and 
$500,000  as  the  costs  of  the  arbitration.  The  bor- 
ough had  no  right  of  appeal,  and  was  compelled 
to  take  over  the  plant  at  the  price  named,  and  pay 
all  of  the  costs  of  the  reference.  The  tax-payers 
were  saddled  with  a  burden  of  nearly  $9,000,000 
for  an  equipment  which  they  should  have  secured, 
but  for  the  allowance  of  the  arbitrators  of  franchise 
value,  for  one-third  that  sum. 

By  such  means  as  these  Parliament  protects  its 
members  and  the  members  of  its  class.  It  then 
points  to  the  recklessness  of  the  Town  Councils  as 
a  proof  of  the  incompetency  of  the  cities,  and  the 
failure  of  municipal  ownership.  Nor  is  this  in- 
stance exceptional.  Saving  as  to  the  franchises 
of  street  railways  and  electric  lighting  companies 
which  have  expired,  the  towns,  when  they  buy  out 
a  private  company  compulsorily,  are  compelled  to 
pay  a  price  determined  by  the  capitalisation  of  the 
net  earnings  of  the  company.  This  is  the  measure 
of  valuation  of  water  and  gas  enterprises,  whose 
franchises  are  in  perpetuity.  Thus  Sheffield  paid 
$1,463,000  for  an  electric  lighting  plant  whose  phys- 
ical value  was  but  $605,700.  Birmingham  paid  over 
$2,000,000  for  a  system  whose  value  was  but  $1,065,- 
000.  The  city  of  Liverpool  paid  $3,000,000  for  the 
franchises  of  the  street  railways.  But  the  metropo- 
lis of  London  was  the  worst  sufferer.  It  paid  $187,- 
372,610   for   the   eight   private   water   companies 


THE  BEITISH  PAKLIAMENT  291 

which  it  purchased  in  1905.  The  total  value  of  the 
physical  property  was  estimated  to  be  but  $121,- 
662,000;  while  the  companies  claimed  that  they 
should  be  allowed  $247,985,000. 

Naturally,  there  was  some  grumbling  at  these 
prices.  And  some  of  the  cities  have  burdened  them- 
selves by  the  extortionate  prices  they  have  had  to 
pay.  They  have  not  been  able  to  make  as  complete 
a  success  of  municipal  ownership  as  they  otherwise 
would.  But  the  veneration  of  the  average  English- 
man for  Parliament  and  his  "betters"  does  not  per- 
mit him  more  than  a  suspicion  that  the  method  of 
valuation  provided  by  law  is  in  any  manner  con- 
nected with  the  fact  that  the  members  of  Parlia- 
ment own  the  franchise  corporations  themselves. 
Ilad  the  Town  Councils  made  these  grants,  they 
might,  in  fairness,  be  called  upon  to  pay  for  their 
own  improvidence.  But  Parliament  itself  made 
them.  The  people  in  the  cities  were  not  even  con- 
sulted as  to  the  terms,  the  prices  to  be  paid,  or 
the  sort  of  service  which  should  be  rendered. 

In  the  closing  days  of  the  Parliamentary  session 
of  1905  an  effort  was  made  to  crowd  through  an 
electric  power  monopoly  for  the  metropolis  of  Lon- 
don. The  bill  granted  a  private  company  what 
would  have  been  an  exclusive  franchise  for  forty- 
two  years.  Many  persons  were  of  the  opinion  that 
it  was  designed  to  kill  off  the  fourteen  municipal 
plants  already  operating   in   the   metropolis,  and 


292  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

owned  by  the  London  boroughs.  The  County  Coun- 
cil and  the  Borough  Councils  combined  to  defeat  the 
measure.  The  promoters  of  the  bill  were  sure  of 
its  passage,  for  the  reason  that  over  a  hundred 
members  of  Parliament  in  both  parties  were  among 
its  stockholders.  But  the  Councils  persevered.  They 
employed  parliamentary  agents  and  presented  vol- 
uminous testimony.  It  cost  the  rate-payers  of  Lon- 
don $750,000  to  defeat  the  bill.  This  sum  was  hon- 
estly spent.  It  was  used  for  legitimate  purposes, 
as  was  the  $250,000  expended  by  the  promoters  of 
the  company.  The  fact  that  many  leaders  in  Par- 
liament were  financially  interested  in  the  company 
excited  little  comment.1 

It  costs  the  English  cities  tremendous  sums  every 
year  to  promote  the  local  measures  and  protect 
themselves  from  those  who  are  seeking  franchise 
grants  in  their  streets.  A  parliamentary  report 
has  shown  that  in  the  six  years  from  1892  to  1898 
it  cost  the  local  authorities  of  Great  Britain  the 
extraordinary  sum  of  nearly  $3,500,000  to  protect 
themselves  from  franchise  grabs  or  to  secure  pow- 
ers that  should  be  conferred  upon  the  towns  by 
general  law.  This  sum  was  used  to  promote 
bills  and  protect  the  cities.  It  was  not  used  for 
bribery.  It  was  not  a  corruption  fund  in  the  Amer- 
ican sense.    It  was  the  necessary  cost  incident  to 

JThe  Electrical  Times,  August  17,  1905,  estimates  the  cost 
of  promotion  and  opposition  at  from  £200,000  to  £250,000. 


THE  BKITISH  PARLIAMENT  293 

securing  all  sorts  of  legislation  that  the  city  should 
have  had  as  a  matter  of  course.  The  little  town 
of  Barnsley  spent  $75,000  on  a  single  bill.  In  six 
years'  time  the  London  County  Council  spent  $570,- 
000  in  promoting  bills  or  protecting  itself  before 
Parliament.1 

The  arbitration  charges  incident  to  the  purchase 
of  the  eight  water  companies  acquired  by  the  Lon- 
don Water  Board  in  1905  amounted  to  $335,000. 

It  seems  incredible  that  such  burdens  could  be 
honestly  incurred  in  purely  parliamentary  business. 
To  the  American  mind  it  is  suggestive  of  the  legis- 
lative funds  of  the  life  insurance  companies  of  New 
York.  These  costs,  however,  are  necessary.  Ap- 
pearance before  a  Parliamentary  Committee  must 
be  done  by  an  attorney,  by  a  parliamentary  agent. 
Experts  have  to  be  hired  to  give  testimony  relative 
to  the  needs  and  necessities  of  the  cities.  Private 
and  local  bill  legislation  is  so  costly  that  it  is  im- 

*In  January,  1907,  the  Local  Government  Board  issued  a 
return  of  the  expenditures  of  the  London  County  Council  and 
the  Borough  Councils  in  the  promotion  of  bills  before  Parlia- 
ment and  in  opposing  measures  directed  against  them.  Dur- 
ing the  four  years  ending  1905-6  the  County  Council  spent 
the  sum  of  $490,000  for  these  purposes.  Of  this  two-thirds 
was  for  the  promotion  of  its  own  measures,  the  balance  was 
expended  for  the  defeat  of  bills  that  the  Council  desired  op- 
posed. According  to  the  same  report,  the  London  Borough 
Councils,  during  the  first  six  years  of  their  existence,  ex- 
pended the  sum  of  $349,900,  of  which  all  but  one-sixth  was 
spent  in  the  opposition  of  measures  before  Parliament  of 
which  the  councils  disapproved.  This  money  was  appropriated 
out  of  the  revenues  of  the  councils  and  was  borne  by  the  rate- 
payers.— The  Municipal  Journal,  January  26,  1907. 


294  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

possible  to  secure  relief  for  any  minor  abuse,  no 
matter  bow  insistent  it  may  be.  Probably  the  worst 
exhibition  of  parliamentary  costs  was  in  the  matter 
of  railway  building.  This  was  all  done  by  private 
bills.  The  Brighton  Kailway  had  to  pay  $24,000 
a  mile  in  parliamentary  costs.  The  Manchester 
and  Birmingham  Kailway  paid  $25,000  a  mile  for 
the  same  purpose,  while  the  London  &  Blackwall 
Railway  paid  $70,000  a  mile  for  getting  its  bills 
through  Parliament.  This  sum  is  very  much  in  ex- 
cess of  the  average  cost  of  railway  construction  in 
America,  This  was  many  years  ago,  it  is  true,  but 
the  system  is  the  same  to-day,  and  the  burdens  on 
the  rate-payers  of  the  cities  seeking  relief  from  Par- 
liament are  very  excessive.1 

It  may  be  urged  that  all  this  proves  nothing  more 
than  an  unwillingness  to  change ;  that  laws  protect- 
ing the  land  owners  from  taxation,  the  railways, 
and  franchise  corporations  from  regulation  and 
competition,  the  cities  from  improvident  ventures, 
slum  clearance,  and  trading,  are  but  an  evidence 
of  an  undue  emphasis  on  property  rights.  This  is 
the  attitude  of  the  average  Englishman  when  he 
thinks  of  the  matter  at  all.  His  veneration  for  the 
ruling  class  is  very  unlike  the  rebellious  protest 
of  the  American  people  toward  the  members  of  the 

Tor  a  description  of  the  methods  of  railway  promotion  in 
the  early  half  of  the  century  and  the  relation  of  the  members 
of  Parliament  and  the  land  owners  thereto  see  Essays,  Volume 
III,  Herbert  Spencer,  page  63. 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  295 

United  States  Senate,  whose  business  affiliations 
render  them  very  solicitous  for  the  railways  and 
protected  industries.  It  is  this  blindness  to  abuses, 
this  veneration  for  anything  that  is  old,  this  sub- 
servience to  the  gentry,  and  those  who  rule  and 
make  use  of  their  powers  for  their  own  enrichment, 
that  is  the  most  disheartening  thing  in  English  life. 
Were  Parliament  subjected  to  the  same  criticism 
that  the  American  public  official  has  to  daily  face, 
the  comparison  would  be  in  favour  of  American 
honesty  and  the  future  of  American  democracy. 
For  we,  at  least,  know.  And  we  are  coming  to  pro- 
test.   And  this  is  the  first  step  in  reform. 

Great  Britain  takes  it  merely  as  a  matter  of  news 
that  in  the  last  Parliament  229  members  of  the 
House  of  Commons  held  between  them  673  director- 
ships in  corporations,  while  108  peers  were  on  the 
boards  of  367  companies.  These  interests  are  large- 
ly railway,  mining,  brewing,  distilling,  and  fran- 
chise. The  press  does  not  protest,  does  not  suggest 
that  this  identity  of  interest  between  big  business 
interests  and  Parliament  is  an  explanation  of  the 
solicitude  of  Parliament  for  privileged  wealth. 

One  of  the  most  odious  acts  of  the  late  Conserva- 
tive government  was  the  so-called  Licensing  Bill. 
This  measure  provided  that  if  the  licence  of  any 
saloon-keeper  to  run  a  public  house  was  taken  away, 
either  because  the  licence  was  unnecessary  or  ob- 
jectionable, the  owner  should  be  compensated  out 


296  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

of  a  fund  collected  from  the  other  licensed  houses. 
The  compensation  to  be  paid  was  not  the  damage 
to  his  fixtures,  the  cost  of  moving,  or  the  possible 
loss  of  rent.  It  was  measured  by  the  capitalisation 
of  the  net  earnings  of  the  place.  But  the  compen- 
sation paid  did  not  go  to  the  saloon-keeper.  It  was 
paid  to  the  landlord  who  owned  the  premises.  This 
bill  created  a  vested  interest,  a  franchise  of  every 
public  house  in  the  Kingdom.  It  became  as  invio- 
late as  the  grant  to  a  street  railway.  The  trade 
was  not  taxed  for  public  revenue,  as  is  done  in 
America.  It  was  taxed  to  compensate  the  land- 
owning classes  for  a  privilege  that  had  formerly 
been  revokable  at  will.  The  common  explanation 
of  the  measure  was  the  influence  of  the  brewing 
and  distilling  interests  in  Parliament.  In  reality, 
it  was  passed  in  the  interests  of  the  land  owners. 
And  it  has  been  estimated  that  the  measure  con- 
ferred a  free  gift  of  something  like  a  billion  and  a 
half  dollars  on  those  who  possessed  the  privilege  of 
keeping  a  public  house.  This  was  the  capitalised 
value  of  the  rights  created. 

To  the  landlords,  the  government  of  Great  Brit- 
ain is  something  that  is  theirs  by  divine  sanction. 
We  cannot  appreciate  the  sanctity  which  attaches 
to  land  and  land  ownership  in  that  country.  Some- 
thing of  it  is  seen  in  the  social  eminence  of  the 
county  families.  In  their  local  sphere  they  are 
supreme.    This  worship  of  a  class,  a  class  for  centu- 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  297 

ries  identified  with  the  land,  is  the  controlling  fact 
in  the  life  of  Great  Britain.  It  is  inwoven  into  all 
legislation.  It  dominates  society.  It  ramifies  into 
jurisprudence.  It  supports  the  church.  It  explains 
the  poverty  of  the  millions  and  the  luxurious  wealth 
of  the  few.  It  corrupts  the  professions  and  public 
opinion.  It  enervates  the  army  and  the  church. 
It  has  undermined  the  physical  stamina  of  the  peo- 
ple. It  has  created  a  servility  on  the  part  of  all 
those  who  form  the  middle  and  lower  classes  no- 
where else  found  in  Europe.  It  is  the  control  by 
the  few  hundred  thousand  at  the  top  that  is  im- 
poverishing the  nation.  For  the  privileges  of  the 
few  have  become  an  exhausting  burden  on  the  many. 
That  is  what  privilege  always  means.  If  it  has 
any  value  to  the  owner  it  must  be  paid  from  the 
labour  of  others. 

It  is  almost  incredible  that  this  merger  of  poli- 
tics and  business  should  have  gone  so  long  unchal- 
lenged. It  is  even  more  incredible  that  England 
should  be  able  to  stagger  along  under  the  burdens 
which  privilege  imposes.  It  is  doubtful  if  any  na- 
tion in  Christendom,  outside  of  Russia  and  Spain, 
is  so  remorselessly  plundered  by  its  ruling  classes 
as  is  Great  Britain. 

To  refer  to  the  matter  of  taxation  again.  Despite 
her  free-trade  policy,  England  derives  over  one- 
half  of  her  imperial  taxes  from  the  excise  and  cus- 
toms duties.    They  are  imposed  upon  necessaries. 


298  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

They  are  borne  almost  wholly  by  the  poor.  In  1904 
the  total  collections  from  these  indirect  taxes 
amounted  to  $317,000,000.  At  the  same  time,  Par- 
liament granted  about  $75,000,000  out  of  the  na- 
tional revenue  for  the  relief  of  local  taxation.  To 
this  extent  the  landlords  in  Parliament  shifted  the 
cost  of  local  government  from  themselves  on  to  the 
masses.  By  so  doing,  they  relieved  the  land  which 
they  own  from  so  much  of  the  taxes  as  ever  settle 
down  upon  them.  They  merely  increased  the 
amount  of  rent  which  they  could  exact  from  the 
tenants,  who  were  relieved  of  taxes  to  the  extent 
of  the  government  subsidy. 

It  would  be  a  simple  matter  to  extend  this  cata- 
logue of  class  legislation  on  the  part  of  the  gentry 
indefinitely.  Cases  might  be  multiplied  of  cities 
purchasing  sources  of  water  supply  at  exorbitant 
prices;  of  land  owners  who  exacted  the  letter  of 
the  bond  in  the  protection  of  their  property  through 
their  membership  in  Parliament.  Similar  instances 
might  be  cited  of  the  fearful  cost  to  the  rate-payers 
of  slum  clearance  and  of  the  fabulous  prices  paid 
to  the  owners  under  arbitration  purchase.  For  the 
members  take  good  care  that  the  towns  pay  full 
price  for  the  privileges  which  they  acquire  for  city 
purposes.1 

JThe  following  instance  is  reported  by  Mr.  George  Haw,  in  a 
very  suggestive  book  entitled  "Britains  Homes,"  page  170: 
"Dealing  with  the  iniquities  of  our  land  system,  Mr.  Cham- 
berlain (in  a  speech  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  October  20, 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  299 

We  may  not  call  all  this  corruption,  although  if 
the  members  of  an  American  City  Council  dealt 
with  themselves  as  the  members  of  Parliament  do 
with  the  railways,  the  franchise  interests,  and  the 
land  which  they  own,  there  would  be  an  outburst  of 
condemnation  against  them.  And  the  cost  of  this 
class  control  mounts  into  the  hundreds,  possibly 
many  hundreds,  of  millions  of  dollars  each  year. 
This  is  the  burden  that  is  thrown  upon  labour  and 
industry  through  tax  evasions;  through  excessive 
prices  for  franchise  corporations ;  through  dock  and 

1885)  said  he  would  give  an  illustrative  example.  He  then  re- 
ferred to  the  Bill  of  the  Metropolitan  Board  of  Works  for  con- 
structing Charing  Cross  Road  through  a  densely  populated 
district  containing  many  slums.  The  Municipality  arranged 
to  retain  possession  of  the  frontages  along  the  proposed  new 
street,  so  as  to  place  the  added  value  against  the  cost  of  the 
scheme,  and  thus  lessen  the  charge  upon  the  rates.  When  the 
bill  came  before  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  Lord 
Salisbury,  who  had  property  on  the  line  of  route,  opposed  it, 
and  claimed  the  insertion  of  a  clause  for  his  special  benefit. 
He  asked  that  the  Municipality  should  not  be  allowed  to  retain 
the  frontage  so  far  as  his  land  was  concerned,  but  that  he 
himself  should  have  them.  In  other  words,  his  lordship,  who 
was  being  paid  the  full  commercial  value  of  his  land,  10  per 
cent,  extra  for  compulsory  purchase,  and  was  also  receiving 
what  is  known  as  compensation  for  severance;  who,  further, 
without  a  farthing's  expenditure  on  his  own  part,  was  reaping 
the  added  value  which  the  improvement  gave  to  his  surround- 
ing property,  actually  came  forward  to  demand  the  one  small 
benefit  left  to  the  rate-payers  who  were  so  largely  increasing 
his  income.  The  committee  of  the  Commons,  finding  the  claim 
altogether  exceptional,  rejected  it;  but  later  on  his  lordship 
succeeded  in  converting  a  committee  of  the  House  of  Lords  to 
his  opinion.  When  the  bill  came  back  to  the  House  of  Com- 
mons, the  concession  given  to  Lord  Salisbury  by  a  committee 
of  his  brother-peers  was  struck  out  by  special  motion,  and  car- 
ried without  a  division." 


300  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

land  purchases ;  through  the  privileges  of  all  sorts 
that  have  been  engrafted  upon  the  government  dur- 
ing centuries  of  class  rule. 

Viewed  in  a  large  perspective,  Great  Britain  has 
reached  a  condition  not  dissimilar  from  that  of 
Rome  in  the  declining  days  of  the  republic,  when 
the  Senate,  enriched  by  the  plunder  of  the  public 
lands,  dispossessed  the  people  from  the  soil  and 
drove  them  to  the  cities,  there  to  subsist  on  public 
aid.  Like  the  privileged  orders  of  the  old  regime 
in  France,  those  who  rule  have  made  use  of  their 
power  for  the  creation  of  special  privileges,  for  the 
shifting  of  taxes  on  to  the  defenseless  members  of 
the  state,  for  the  protection  of  land  monopoly,  and 
the  burdening  of  the  backs  of  labour  with  rent, 
taxes,  railway,  and  other  charges,  until  the  people, 
like  the  peasantry  of  Ireland,  have  been  reduced  to 
a  state  of  helpless,  hopeless  poverty.  England  has 
reached  a  state  of  physical  deterioration.  ^Eer  in- 
dustrial life  is  at  a  low  ebb.  She  no  longer  recruits 
her  strength  from  the  sod  or  the  mill.  Agriculture 
is  in  a  state  of  arrested  development.  The  tenant 
is  being  driven  to  the  city  by  the  competitive  rents 
of  the  landlords.  In  the  city  he  is  housed  in  dis- 
ease-breeding tenements,  the  worst  in  Europe,  where 
he  struggles  for  a  bare  subsistence. 

In  privilege  is  to  be  found  the  cause  of  England's 
heart  disease,  a  disease  as  fatal  to  a  nation  as  un- 
dernourishment is  to  the  human  body.    England  is 


THE  BRITISH  PARLIAMENT  301 

being  impoverished  by  those  who  rule,  and  through 
this  impoverishment  the  industrial,  moral,  and  so- 
cial vitality  of  her  people  is  being  destroyed.  Gen- 
erations of  reverence  for  the  aristocracy  has  en- 
feebled her  powers  of  political  resistance.  The  peo- 
ple are  too  poor  to  emigrate;  and  in  the  country 
districts  too  hopeless  to  organise.  The  resistance 
of  the  upper  classes  is  like  that  of  the  grand  dukes 
of  Russia.  The  cure  cannot  come  from  palliatives. 
It  can  only  come  through  a  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  democracy  is  an  economic  much  more  than  a 
personal  thing,  and  that  industrial  opportunity  can 
only  be  secured  through  the  heroic  destruction  of 
the  abuses  of  privilege  which  centuries  of  feudal 
tradition  has  engrafted  upon  the  people. 

Great  Britain  seems  to  be  suspecting  this  fact. 
The  last  election,  which  carried  an  overwhelming 
Liberal  majority  into  Parliament  and  created  a 
new  party,  that  of  labour,  is  the  first  evidence  of 
real  democracy.  But  the  task  is  a  heavy  one.  The 
odds  are  fearfully  against  the  people.  On  the  one 
hand  is  the  House  of  Lords,  the  conservatism  of 
the  Commons,  the  Church,  the  Army,  the  Navy,  the 
press,  the  bar,  and  all  of  the  agencies  of  public 
opinion  and  social  power,  "sitting  tight"  on  abuses 
so  old  that  they  have  become  sacred.  On  the  other 
is  the  enfeebled  and  subservient  tenantry  and  la- 
bouring classes,  poor,  untaught,  almost  unled,  to- 
gether with  the   middle    classes,    who    would    be 


302  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

content  with  the  existing  order  if  its  worst  abuses 
were  but  modified  in  their  interest.  Democracy  in 
Great  Britain  has  a  long  way  to  go  before  it  becomes 
articulate.  It  is  just  becoming  conscious  of  the 
fact  that  government  by  a  class  is  dangerous.  But 
even  the  most  radical  proposals  now  before  Parlia- 
ment fall  a  long  way  short  of  bringing  any  substan- 
tial relief,  and  even  these  reforms  seem  difficult  of 
early  realisation. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  UPPER  AND  THE  NETHER  MILLSTONES  OF 
PRIVILEGE 

Everywhere  in  Great  Britain  there  are  symp- 
toms of  decay.  In  agriculture,  in  industry,  in  every 
department  of  life  it  is  manifest,  but  most  of  all  in 
the  poverty  and  physical  deterioration  of  the  people. 
The  nation  seems  to  be  in  a  state  of  incipient  sene- 
mia.  Industry  is  lacking  in  that  robust  aggressive- 
ness that  characterises  Germany  and  America.  All 
this  is  admitted  in  the  United  Kingdom,  but  there 
is  no  agreement  as  to  the  cause  of  it  all,  or  as  to 
what  should  be  done  to  remedy  the  condition.  The 
proposal  of  Mr.  Joseph  Chamberlin  for  a  protective 
tariff,  thinly  disguised  under  the  plea  of  colonial 
federation,  was  overwhelmingly  defeated  at  the  last 
election.  And  a  protective  tariff  would  merely  have 
added  another  piece  of  class  legislation  to  the  mul- 
titude under  which  the  country  now  staggers.  It 
would  have  increased  the  value  of  agricultural  land. 
It  would  have  added  to  the  cost  of  living  of  all 
classes.  It  would  have  imperilled  the  country's 
carrying  trade  and  brought  ruin  to  many  of  her 
industries.     For  commerce  hates  barriers,  and  the 

303 


304  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

immense  trading  tonnage  of  Great  Britain  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  her  ports  are  open  to  the  ships  of 
the  world. 

Others  have  found  the  disease  in  the  lack  of  popu- 
lar education,  and  especially  in  the  backwardness 
of  technical  training.  Very  material  advance  has 
been  made  in  recent  years  in  the  promotion  of  uni- 
versal state  education.  But  the  Church  of  England 
is  opposed  to  any  interference  with  its  oversight  of 
the  training  of  the  people.  And  the  Church  is  so 
inwoven  with  the  aristocracy  that  any  progress 
toward  secular  education  is  difficult  of  achievement. 
Moreover,  England  has  no  trained  body  of  teachers, 
such  as  are  to  be  found  in  every  section  of  Germany 
and  America.  And  it  will  take  years  to  produce 
them. 

Other  critics,  and  more  intelligent  ones,  find  the 
cause  of  Great  Britain's  decay  in  the  absence  of 
peasant  proprietors  such  as  are  found  on  the  conti- 
nent. They  would  call  the  people  back  to  the  soil 
through  the  purchase  of  the  land  by  the  state  and 
its  distribution  to  small  proprietors  on  the  install- 
ment plan.  Other  reformers  attribute  the  condition 
of  the  people  to  the  drink  evil,  which  has  assumed 
fearful  proportions;  while  a  very  few  place  it  at 
the  door  of  the  municipal  indebtedness  and  the 
great  increase  in  local  rates.  But  much  of  the  in- 
crease in  the  expenditure  of  the  towns  has  been 
imposed  by  action  of  Parliament  and  the  necessities 


MILLSTONES  OF  PRIVILEGE  305 

of  health,  sanitation,  and  education.  Municipal 
trading,  far  from  being  a  burden  to  industry,  has 
materially  reduced  local  taxes. 

What  are  commonly  treated  as  causes  are  very 
often  effects.  And  the  cause  of  Great  Britain's 
diminishing  prestige  is  much  more  fundamental 
than  any  of  those  indicated.  It  is  to  be  found  in 
the  multitude  of  special  privileges  which  those  in 
control  of  Parliament  have  created  during  their 
long,  unchallenged  rule  of  the  United  Kingdom. 
Other  nations  have  passed  through  the  same  expe- 
rience, and  the  results  have  always  been  the  same. 
In  every  country  where  those  who  own  the  land 
have  been  entrusted  with  the  government  the  same 
evolution  has  taken  place.  It  has  resulted  in  irre- 
sponsible wealth  alongside  of  widespread  poverty. 

Wherever  this  merging  of  privilege  with  the 
agencies  of  government  has  taken  place,  great  na- 
tions have  passed  through  the  same  evolution,  an 
evolution  that  is  as  natural  as  it  is  inevitable.  For 
the  instinct  of  privilege  is  always  to  secure  pos- 
session of  the  government,  and  then  make  use  of 
it  for  the  promotion  and  the  protection  of  its  inter- 
ests. Special  privileges  can  arise  in  no  other  way. 
They  are  the  creations  of  law.  They  are  contrary 
to  the  natural  order,  and  only  arise  under  organised 
society.  For  the  law  of  nature  is  the  law  of  equal 
opportunity.  Special  privilege  is  the  denial  of  that 
principle.     But    wherever    organised    government 


306  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

has  appeared,  those  who  owned  the  land  and  the 
things  appurtenant  to  the  land  have  seized  upon 
its  administration  for  the  purpose  of  relieving 
themselves  of  the  burdens  of  government  and  of 
increasing  their  monopoly  privileges  by  means  of 
the  creation  of  new  laws. 

In  Great  Britain,  this  merging  of  the  landed  class 
with  the  government  is  now  complete.  It  has  been 
so  for  generations.  It  has  expressed  itself  in  count- 
less ways,  but  mainly  in  the  laws  relating  to  the 
land  and  the  subject  of  taxation.  Nowhere  in  the 
western  world  have  the  law-making  agencies  been 
so  completely  at  the  service  of  special  interests  as 
they  have  in  Great  Britain,  and  the  results  are  to 
be  seen  in  the  industrial  and  physical  decay  of  the 
nation,  in  the  decline  of  agriculture,  and  finally  in 
the  fearful  poverty  of  the  people.  The  conditions 
are  not  due  to  any  racial  characteristics  of  the  Brit- 
ish people.  They  are  the  price  of  a  class  control 
of  the  government  and  a  misuse  of  power  by  the 
landed  aristocracy. 

In  its  affiliations  with  the  railways,  the  monopo- 
lies, and  the  tariff-made  trusts,  the  United  States 
Senate  suggests  a  similar  condition.  But  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Senate  enjoy  none  of  the  social  distinc- 
tion, none  of  the  permanence,  none  of  the  venera- 
tion which  hedges  about  the  aristocracy  of  the 
United  Kingdom  and  gives  it  a  sort  of  sanctity  in 
the  eyes  of  the  common  man.    Moreover,  the  Senate 


MILLSTONES  OF  PRIVILEGE  307 

is  of  our  own  making.  The  people  have  it  in  their 
power  to  change  its  personnel  or  make  way  with  its 
abuses.  The  average  Englishman  feels  that  the 
aristocracy  of  his  country  is  clothed  with  some  of 
the  divinity  that  encompasses  the  King. 

Great  Britain  is  free  in  one  respect,  and  that  is 
her  freedom  of  trade  with  the  outside  world.  But 
in  respect  of  the  land,  the  mines,  the  resources,  the 
railways,  and  taxation,  the  tyranny  of  privilege  is 
complete.  And  the  cost  of  it  all  is  shown  in  the 
life  of  the  nation.  The  slums  of  the  British  cities 
are  the  worst  in  Europe.  Millions  of  people  are 
herded  in  miserable  lodgings,  which  the  landlords 
who  own  them  will  not  improve  nor  permit  the  cit- 
ies to  regulate.  Disease  saps  the  strength  of  on- 
coming generations,  while  poverty  drives  them  to 
the  saloon  as  the  only  solace. 

The  condition  of  the  smaller  towns  and  the  coun- 
try villages  is  not  much,  if  any,  better.  In  town 
and  country  the  labourer  is  badly  paid.  He  is 
rack-rented  out  of  his  produce  and  taxed  to  exhaus- 
tion. In  the  country  the  rent  of  the  land  is  de- 
termined by  competition  for  its  use.  And  in  a 
nation  where  all  of  the  land  is  taken  up,  while 
thousands  of  men  are  struggling  to  escape  the  work- 
house, the  rents  demanded  are  all  that  the  land  can 
be  made  to  yield  and  still  leave  a  living  to  the 
worker.  Ofttimes  even  this  minimum  of  existence 
is  exceeded.    Competition  leads  the  tenant  to  offer 


308  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

more  than  he  can  pay.  This  is  what  happened  in 
Ireland.  The  struggle  for  existence  led  to  such 
excessive  rents  that  the  country  was  impoverished 
and  its  population  driven  to  America.  And  any 
improvements  made  by  the  tenant,  any  increase  in 
productiveness  also  pass  in  time  to  the  landlord. 
They  are  made  an  excuse  for  a  further  increase  in 
the  rent.  In  consequence,  incentive  dies.  The 
farmer  is  content  with  the  things  he  is  accustomed 
to,  because  in  these  only  is  there  any  safety.  Added 
to  this,  the  tenant  has  all  the  local  taxes  to  pay. 
They  are  determined  by  the  amount  of  rent  which 
he  pays  to  the  landlord.  If  the  land  is  not  rented, 
or  yields  no  income,  it  pays  no  rates,  for  then  there 
is  no  one  from  whom  they  can  be  collected.  If  the 
soil  lies  idle  it  costs  the  owner  nothing  save  his  loss 
of  rent.  He  is  under  no  stimulus  to  make  the  best 
possible  use  of  his  estates.  He  may  convert  them 
into  hunting  preserves,  as  is  done  all  over  Great 
Britain.  Then  they  pay  no  rates.  But  the  rates 
of  those  who  do  make  use  of  their  lands  are  in- 
creased in  consequence. 

Just  as  the  land  may  be  preserved  as  a  hunting 
park,  so  it  may  be  devoted  to  careless  agriculture 
or  grazing,  when  it  should  be  devoted  to  intense 
cultivation.  Millions  of  acres  are  so  given  over. 
England  buys  her  garden  produce  across  the  Eng- 
lish channel,  in  order  that  her  ducal  owners  may 
not  be  bothered  with  unsightly  peasants  or  mis- 


MILLSTONES  OF  PKIVILEGE  309 

erable  lodgings.  Men  whose  broad  estates  have 
been  built  upon  by  populous  towns,  and  who  are 
enjoying  princely  incomes  from  city  rent  rolls,  can 
afford  to  use  their  estates  as  suits  their  fancy.  They 
can  treat  them  as  playthings,  even  though  thou- 
sands of  persons  are  thereby  deprived  of  an  oppor- 
nity  to  work.  The  United  Kingdom  is  covered  with 
great  estates  given  over  to  such  frivolous  uses.  For- 
mer prosperous  villages  have  been  permitted  to 
decay.  Farmers  whose  ancestors  occupied  the  land 
along  with  the  Conqueror,  have  been  driven  to  the 
cities  because  the  Lord  of  the  Manor  desired  a  more 
expansive  shooting  preserve  or  a  breeding  planta- 
tion. During  the  last  century  the  sturdy  English 
yeomen,  once  the  pride  and  defense  of  the  nation, 
have  been  slowly  driven  from  the  soil.  Many  Eng- 
lish villages  contain  none  save  aged  persons  and 
those  unable  to  leave.  All  the  others  have  gone 
to  the  cities.  There  are  few  sadder  sights  than  the 
decaying  British  village,  filled  with  dejected,  hope- 
less, and  fast  diminishing  residents,  who  loaf  about 
the  stables  and  the  public  houses,  and  end  their 
days  in  the  workhouse.  Human  life  is  of  trivial 
moment  in  comparison  with  the  hounds,  the  herds, 
and  an  unobstructed  outlook  upon  the  land.  To- 
day, four-fifths  of  Great  Britain's  population  is 
crowded  into  the  towns,  while  those  who  remain  on 
the  soil  do  not  suggest  any  relationship  to  the  tra- 
ditional farmer  with  whom  literature  makes  us 


310  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

familiar.  The  farm  labourer  is  vanishing.  Since 
1850,  in  spite  of  the  great  increase  in  population, 
there  has  been  a  diminution  of  over  a  million  and 
a  quarter  of  persons  employed  in  agriculture. 

Those  who  go  to  the  towns  take  their  place  at 
the  looms,  the  lathe,  the  forge,  or  the  counter,  with- 
out hope  and  with  little  ambition.  They  are  under- 
nourished, and  ripe  for  disease.  They  live  in  mis- 
erable tenements,  and  many  of  them  find  their  way 
to  the  workhouse,  while  those  who  continue  in  the 
industrial  ranks  have  little  to  aspire  to.  The  Eng- 
lish wage-earner  has  none  of  the  buoyancy,  none 
of  the  ingenuity,  none  of  the  outlook  on  life  that 
animates  the  American  workman  with  whom  he  is 
competing  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  He  is 
crushed  beneath  an  industrial  environment  from 
which  he  cannot  hope  to  escape.  He  has  no  alterna- 
tive but  the  job  which  is  under  his  hand,  for  oppor- 
tunity is  closed  at  every  turn.  His  wages  are  low, 
too  low  to  permit  of  the  slightest  extravagance,  or 
even  the  education  of  his  children.  He  is  always 
on  the  borderland  of  poverty  and  the  temporary 
loss  of  employment.  An  interval  of  sickness  or 
hard  times  is  likely  to  push  him  and  his  family  into 
the  workhouse. 

The  condition  of  the  poor  of  England  is  evidenced 
by  the  investigations  of  Charles  Booth  in  London, 
and  of  B.  S.  Kowntree  in  York.  Mr.  Rowntree  ar- 
gues from  his  studies  that  one-sixth  of  the  working 


MILLSTONES  OF  PEIVILEGE  311 

classes  throughout  the  country  are  unable  out  of 
their  wages  to  secure  enough  food  to  keep  them  in 
proper  physical  health,  even  if  every  penny  earned 
is  spent  on  bare  necessities;  while  one-third  of  the 
wage-earners  are  so  poorly  paid  that  if  they  spend 
up  to  six  shillings  a  week  per  family  on  luxuries 
such  as  drink,  tobacco,  or  unnecessary  dress,  they 
must  deprive  themselves  of  sufficient  food  to  keep 
themselves  in  a  state  of  proper  physical  efficiency. 
According  to  the  Board  of  Trade  returns,  there 
were  in  1904,  750,000  men  in  the  organised  trades 
wTho  were  out  of  employment.  In  the  unorganised 
and  unskilled  trades  there  was  probably  an  even 
greater  number.  It  has  been  estimated  that,  in- 
cluding the  women  and  children  who  were  depend- 
ent upon  them,  that  between  5,000,000  and  6,000,- 
000  human  beings  were  in  serious  want  in  1904,  in 
addition  to  the  millions  who  are  always  below  the 
poverty  line. 

The  condition  of  the  working  classes  is  primarily 
responsible  for  the  decay  of  British  industry.  For 
skilled  workmen  are  not  developed  under  such  in- 
dustrial conditions.  Efficient  labour  is  always  well- 
paid  labour.  And  the  higher  the  wage  and  the 
greater  the  intelligence,  the  higher  the  efficiency. 
Nominal  wages  are  higher  in  America  than  in  any 
country  in  Europe.  But  the  real  wage  paid  is  prob- 
ably lower  because  of  the  higher  skill  and  inge- 
nuity of  the  workman.    He  is  inspired  by  hope,  by 


312  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

the  desire  for  promotion  and  advancement.  In  its 
last  analysis,  the  condition  of  the  British  workman 
is  traceable  to  the  economic  environment  of  the  peo- 
ple. This  is  not  due  to  any  ethnic  characteristic. 
The  British  emigrant  has  peopled  the  world  and 
brought  forth  order  and  prosperity  wherever  he  set 
his  foot  on  colonial  shores.  At  home  he  has  no 
chance.  Monopoly  has  closed  the  door  of  oppor- 
tunity against  him. 

The  controlling  influences  in  the  economic  en- 
vironment of  the  British  artisan  and  farm  labourer 
are  the  system  of  land  tenure  and  the  levying  of 
local  rates  upon  the  occupier  and  industry.  Here- 
in, back  of  all  surface  causes,  is  the  explanation  of 
modern  Britain.  For  taxes  can  come  from  only 
two  sources.  They  must  be  paid  either  from  the 
rent  of  the  land  or  from  labour.  In  the  last  analy- 
sis there  is  no  other  source  from  which  taxes  can 
come.  To  the  extent  that  labour  is  taxed  land  is 
relieved,  and  the  incomes  of  the  land-owning  classes 
increased. 

The  annual  burden  of  rent  and  taxes  which  the 
labour  of  Great  Britain  bears  is  from  one  to 
two  billion  dollars.  It  amounts  to  approximately 
forty  dollars  a  head  on  every  man,  woman  and  child 
in  the  United  Kingdom.  It  is  the  equivalent  of  two 
hundred  dollars  a  family.  The  element  of  rent 
enters  into  every  article  of  consumption.  In  some 
form  or  other,  disguised  though  it  may  be,  it  is  paid 


MILLSTONES  OF  PKIVILEGE  313 

by  the  forty  millions  of  landless  workers  to  the 
handful  of  persons  who  own  the  resources  of  the 
country.  More  than  half  of  it  is  probably  paid  to 
less  than  ten  thousand  persons. 

Political  economists  have  rarely  emphasised  the 
influence  of  the  land  and  its  distribution  among  the 
people  upon  the  life  and  welfare  of  a  nation.  Rent 
is  accepted  as  part  of  the  natural  order  of  indus- 
try, and  its  payment  is  treated  as  a  voluntary  sacri- 
fice, which  is  under  man's  control,  just  as  are  the 
other  necessaries  of  life.  Even  the  marvellous  in- 
crease in  the  value  of  urban  land  in  the  United 
States  and  the  princely  incomes  of  the  Astors  and 
similar  landlords,  which  are  constantly  growing 
through  no  energy  of  the  owners,  are  the  subject  of 
little  comment  and  less  concern.  The  suggestion 
that  these  great  unearned  incomes,  which  exceed 
in  amount  the  total  revenues  of  the  city,  should  be 
subjected  to  special  taxation,  is  treated  as  the  dan- 
gerous proposal  of  those  who  would  confiscate  the 
property  of  others  for  the  benefit  of  the  thriftless 
classes.  Yet  the  effect  of  the  private  appropriation 
of  the  labour  and  industry  of  the  people  through 
rent  and  the  exemption  of  this  purely  social  prod- 
uct from  taxation  is  the  most  important  influence 
in  determining  the  distribution  of  wealth  and  the 
welfare  of  a  people. 

For   rent   is   not   a   voluntary    payment.      The 
amount  of  rent  which  one  may  pay  for  the  house 


314  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

in  which  he  lives  is  to  some  extent  under  his  con- 
trol. But  in  some  form  or  other  the  total  rent  of 
the  nation  is  an  involuntary  tribute  imposed  upon 
all  those  who  do  not  participate  in  its  enjoyment. 
It  is  part  of  the  charge  for  every  service.  The 
aggregate  amount  of  rent  increases  from  day  to 
day.  From  its  payment  there  is  no  escape.  The 
growth  of  population  of  itself  insures  the  gradual 
rise  in  the  value  of  the  resources  of  the  nation  and 
the  annual  tribute  which  must  be  paid  by  those  who 
labour  to  those  who  own. 

In  this  fact  is  to  be  found  the  explanation  of 
increasing  poverty  in  the  midst  of  increasing 
plenty.  In  the  slow  appropriation  of  the  wealth 
of  a  nation  by  the  land-owning  classes,  and  the  ex- 
clusion of  mankind  from  access  to  the  soil,  is  the 
explanation  of  the  decay  of  nations.  Even  in  a 
country  in  which  agriculture  is  subordinate  to  com- 
merce and  industry,  the  vitality  of  the  producing 
classes,  as  well  as  their  standard  of  living,  is  de- 
pendent upon  their  relation  to  the  resources  of  the 
earth.  In  Great  Britain,  where  all  of  the  land  is 
taken  up,  the  rent  which  must  be  paid  is  determined 
by  the  need  to  live.  No  activity  is  possible  until 
man  has  found  an  abiding  place  for  himself  and 
his  family.  The  soil  is  limited  in  amount  by  na- 
ture. It  is  still  further  limited  by  the  arbitrary 
will  of  the  owners — who  withhold  it  from  use.  The 
opportunity  to  work  commands  a  monopoly  price. 


MILLSTONES  OF  PRIVILEGE  315 

And  the  only  return  which  the  tenant  receives  from 
the  payment  of  rent  is  the  right  to  work.  This  is 
the  only  contribution  which  the  land  owner  makes 
to  the  industrial  life  of  the  nation.  In  return  for 
this  privilege  the  land  owners  of  Great  Britain 
appropriate  more  than  one  thousand  million  dol- 
lars a  year. 

This  is  the  tribute  which  the  industry  of  that 
country  annually  pays  to  the  class  which  owns  the 
land.  It  is  the  first  charge  upon  the  life  of  the 
nation.  From  this  payment  there  is  no  escape. 
From  the  landlord  there  is  no  appeal.  The  rent 
charge  is  a  first  lien  on  all  that  the  nation  pro- 
duces. The  owner  of  the  soil,  who  neither  toils  nor 
spins,  benefits  by  the  industry  of  the  nation,  to 
which  he  contributes  no  labour,  but  which  is  daily 
increasing  the  amount  which  he  may  charge  to  the 
next  generation.  The  landlord  need  not  fear  for 
a  tenant,  for  there  is  always  another  at  hand  ready 
to  take  the  place  of  him  who  has  failed.  In  good 
times  or  in  bad  a  long  line  of  workers  stands  ready 
to  accept  any  opportunity  which  offers  a  chance  of 
escape  from  the  alternative  of  the  workhouse. 

This  is  the  condition  into  which  Great  Britain 
has  fallen  through  the  long-continued  government 
of  the  country  in  the  interests  of  those  who  own 
the  land.  The  landless  classes  have  been  reduced 
to  a  state  of  industrial  dependence — to  the  merest 
fraction  of  the  population.    But  this  is  not  the  only 


316  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

burden  which  those  who  labour  pay  as  a  price  for 
the  privilege  of  being  governed  by  their  betters. 
From  the  diminishing  returns  of  the  merchant  and 
the  manufacturer,  the  tenant  farmer  and  the  wage 
earner,  are  collected  all  of  the  local  taxes.  He  who 
owns  the  land  is  free  from  any  direct  payment  to 
the  maintenance  of  local  government.  And  the 
local  taxes,  like  the  rent,  are  constantly  increasing 
in  amount.  But  none  of  the  increase  is  shifted 
on  to  the  land,  which  alone  is  benefited  by  the  local 
expenditure.  It  is  all  borne  by  the  industrial 
classes.  Thus  those  who  labour  are  rack-rented  by 
the  landlord  out  of  all  that  competition  will  permit 
him  to  take  and  furthermore  they  are  taxed  by  the 
state  out  of  the  little  that  remains.  The  total  local 
taxes  of  the  United  Kingdom  amount  to  approxi- 
mately |250,000,000  a  year. 

Herein,  of  itself,  is  an  adequate  explanation  of 
the  decay  of  Great  Britain.  For  those  who  labour 
are  being  crushed  between  the  upper  and  nether 
mill  stones  of  ground  rent  and  taxes.  Ireland 
paid  the  price  of  the  system  in  the  devastation  of 
the  country,  and  the  same  process  is  reaching  its 
logical  conclusion  in  Great  Britain  to-day. 

Growing  out  of  the  exemption  of  land  and  the 
resources  of  the  nation  from  direct  taxation  is  land 
monopoly,  and  with  it  the  closing  of  opportunity. 
For  in  the  last  analysis  the  life  and  industry  of  a 
people  is  traceable  to  the  liberty  of  access  to  the 


MILLSTONES  OF  PKIVILEGE  317 

soil  and  the  freedom  of  the  worker  from  tribute  to 
the  land  owner.  The  cry  of  all  Britain  is  for  land, 
land  to  use,  to  build  upon,  not  to  own.  The  soil  of 
the  United  Kingdom  is  fertile  enough  There  is  op- 
portunity for  millions  upon  the  countrysides,  were 
it  not  for  the  dead  hand  of  monopoly  and  the  bur- 
den of  competitive  rents  and  unjust  taxes.  The 
people  could  raise  an  abundance  of  food  and  dairy 
products.  But  the  independent  peasant  farmer,  so 
universal  in  France,  Holland,  Switzerland,  South 
Germany,  and  Denmark,  is  not  to  be  found  in  Great 
Britain.  He  can  only  gain  access  to  the  soil  on 
ruinous  terms.  He  cannot  purchase  the  land,  even 
if  he  were  able  to  do  so,  for  only  a  limited  portion 
of  the  soil  is  alienable.  The  owner  need  not  sell. 
He  need  not  make  any  productive  use  of  his  hold- 
ings. The  land  is  free  from  any  direct  taxation, 
and  consequently  from  any  necessity  to  make  it  pay 
for  itself.  Those  who  are  responsible  for  this  con- 
dition explain  the  decay  of  British  agriculture  by 
the  competition  of  the  American  West.  This  and 
the  greater  attractiveness  of  city  life,  it  is  claimed, 
have  depopulated  the  countryside  and  forced  the 
landlord  into  careless  cultivation  and  grazing.  It 
is  the  fixed  belief  of  most  people  that  Great  Britain 
cannot  grow  sufficient  food  for  the  needs  of  her 
people.  This  assumption  would  seem  to  be  dis- 
proved by  the  intensive  culture  under  peasant  pro- 
prietorship on  the  continent.    In  a  chapter  devoted 


318  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

to  the  "Possibilities  of  Agriculture,"  in  his  "Fields, 
Factories  and  Workshops,"  P.  Kropatkin  says : 

"But  the  above  will  be  enough  to  caution  the 
reader  against  hasty  conclusions  as  to  the  impossi- 
bility of  feeding  39,000,000  people  from  78,000,000 
acres.  They  will  also  enable  me  to  draw  the  follow- 
ing conclusions:  (1)  If  the  soil  of  the  United  King- 
dom were  cultivated  only  as  it  was  thirty-five  years 
ago,  24,000,000  people,  instead  of  17,000,000,  could 
live  on  home-grown  food,  and  that  culture,  while 
giving  occupation  to  an  additional  750,000  men, 
would  give  nearly  3,000,000  wealthy  home  custom- 
ers to  the  British  manufacturers.  (2)  If  the  cul- 
tivable area  of  the  United  Kingdom  were  cultivated 
as  the  soil  is  cultivated  on  the  average  in  Bel- 
gium, the  United  Kingdom  would  have  food  for  at 
least  37,000,000  inhabitants,  and  it  might  export 
agricultural  produce  without  ceasing  to  manufac- 
ture, so  as  freely  to  supply  all  the  needs  of  a 
wealthy  population.  And  finally  (3)  if  the  popu- 
lation of  this  country  came  to  be  doubled  all  that 
would  be  required  for  producing  the  food  for  80,- 
000,000  inhabitants  would  be  to  cultivate  the  soil 
as  it  is  cultivated  in  the  best  farms  of  this  country, 
in  Lombardy,  and  in  Flanders,  and  to  utilise  some 
meadows  which  at  present  lie  almost  unproductive 
in  the  same  way  as  the  neighbourhoods  of  the  big 
cities  in  France  are  utilised  for  market  gardening. 
All  these  are  not  fancy  dreams,  but  mere  realities ; 


MILLSTONES  OF  PEIVILEGE  319 

nothing  but  modest  conclusions  from  what  we  see 
about  us,  without  any  allusion  to  the  agriculture  of 
the  future." 

On  the  continent  of  Europe,  where  land  is  al- 
lotted in  small  holdings  instead  of  being  held  in 
great  manorial  estates,  the  condition  of  the  people 
and  the  prosperity  of  the  farming  population  is  in 
marked  contrast  to  the  agricultural  workers  of 
Great  Britain. 

In  the  cities  conditions  are  the  same.  Great 
metropolitan  areas  are  owned  by  a  single  landlord, 
from  which  he  derives  millions  in  rentals.  He  need 
not  improve  his  holdings  until  he  is  ready  to  do 
so.  He  usually  lets  them  to  another,  who  is  then 
taxed  by  the  community  for  his  industry.  The  re- 
sult is  that  a  large  part  of  Great  Britain  is  unpro- 
ductive. In  city  and  country,  land,  mines,  and 
building  sites  are  unusued  and  unoccupied.  In  con- 
sequence the  competition  for  that  which  is  used  is 
increased,  while  the  owner  is  enabled  to  demand  a 
monopoly  price  by  reason  of  the  artificial  scarcity 
which  he  has  created. 

Everywhere  labour  and  energy  are  punished. 
Everywhere  monopoly  is  encouraged.  Human  in- 
genuity would  find  it  difficult  to  devise  a  society 
more  perfectly  arranged  for  privilege  or  more  ef- 
fectually adjusted  to  the  destruction  of  opportu- 
nity. The  system  of  land  tenure,  the  difficulty  of 
its  alienation,  the  costliness  of  every  transaction, 


320  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

and  the  unjust  system  of  taxation,  are  the  burdens 
which  those  who  rule  Great  Britain  have  imposed 
upon  those  who  produce  and  upon  whose  enterprise 
all  others,  even  the  aristocracy,  rely.  The  privi- 
leges of  the  ruling  classes  are  protected  as  jealously 
as  though  they  were  Heaven  sent.  Valuable  mining 
resources,  upon  which  great  cities  rely  for  their 
fuel,  may  be  closed  by  reason  of  a  strike  or  the  de- 
sire of  the  owner  for  higher  royalties.  He  is  under 
no  compulsion  to  develop  the  property,  for  the  local 
rates  are  determined  by  the  output  of  the  mines. 
The  mines  may  lie  idle  for  months  or  years,  await- 
ing the  will  of  the  owner.  Whole  sections  of  a  city 
may  be  kept  out  of  the  market  for  the  same  reason, 
or  in  hopes  of  a  speculative  increase  in  the  value 
of  the  estate.  Land  about  the  suburbs  is  closed  to 
occupancy  or  used  for  idle  pleasures,  while  those 
who  must  find  homes  at  any  cost  are  forced  to  take 
whatever  they  can  get,  and  pay  a  monopoly  price 
therefor,  because  of  the  artificial  limitation  of  the 
supply. 

All  of  this  is  possible  because  of  the  fact  that  the 
land  and  the  resources  of  the  country  are  not  taxed 
on  their  real  value.  By  reason  of  the  assessment 
of  property  on  the  rental  received  rather  than  its 
actual  value,  that  which  is  used  is  very  heavily 
burdened.  For  it  is  not  the  value  in  the  market 
that  is  taken;  it  is  the  rental  that  the  owner  hap- 
pens to  receive  from  the  use  which  he  has  seen  fit  to 


MILLSTONES  OF  PRIVILEGE  321 

make  of  it.  The  net  result  of  this  arrangement  is 
that  it  is  very  easy  to  keep  the  resources  of  the 
country  out  of  use,  and  to  command  a  monopoly 
price  for  those  which  are  in  the  market.  In  conse- 
quence, idle  labour  which  is  everywhere  seeking 
employment,  and  which  is  now  maintained  by  the 
poor  rates,  is  excluded  from  the  soil.  In  city  and 
country  opportunity  is  closed,  while  industry  can 
only  be  carried  on  upon  the  terms  of  the  land- 
owning classes.  And  costly  though  the  apparent 
evils  are,  those  that  cannot  be  seen  are  very  much 
worse.  For  the  results  of  these  conditions  ramify 
into  all  of  the  relations  of  life.  They  are  strangling 
the  life  of  the  people.  They  form  the  economic 
limitations  upon  British  society.  They  explain  the 
political  motives  of  Parliament  and  the  struggle 
for  existence  on  the  part  of  the  people.  To  the 
monopoly  which  results  therefrom  is  attributable 
not  only  the  low  standard  of  living  of  the  great 
mass  of  the  people,  but  the  lack  of  hope  and  vital- 
ity, which  is  a  condition  precedent  to  any  vigorous 
national  life. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  NEXT  STEP  OF  INDUSTRIAL  DEMOCRACY 

The  contemporary  literature  of  Great  Britain, 
as  well  as  the  vital  enthusiasms  of  the  present  Lib- 
eral ministry,  seems  to  indicate  that  a  change  is 
imminent  in  the  attitude  of  the  nation  toward  its 
problems.  Complacency  has  given  place  to  en- 
quiry. The  traditional  explanations  of  the  decline 
in  agriculture,  the  decay  in  industry,  and  the  in- 
creasing poverty  of  the  people,  are  being  questioned. 
The  cure  of  the  nation's  heart  disease  is  being 
sought,  not  so  much  through  charity  as  through 
positive  legislation.  And  the  most  radical  of  the 
many  seemingly  radical  measures  of  the  present 
ministry  are  those  relating  to  the  reform  of  local 
taxation. 

It  may  seem  inadequate  to  find  in  the  method  of 
raising  local  revenue,  or  the  system  of  land  tenure, 
an  explanation  of  the  decay  of  a  nation.  The  con- 
dition of  the  peasant  farmer,  of  the  city  Hooligan, 
of  the  tenement  and  the  slum,  seem  far  remote  from 
such  causes,  especially  in  a  country  whose  eminence 
lies  not  in  agriculture  but  in  its  commerce  and 
industry.    But  remote  as  the  connection  may  seem, 

823 


INDUSTRIAL  DEMOCRACY  323 

it  is  none  the  less  true  that  Great  Britain  is  in 
danger  of  losing  whatever  supremacy  she  enjoys 
because  of  the  monopoly  of  the  land  and  the  re- 
sources of  the  nation,  and  their  exemption  from 
direct  taxes.  The  line  of  political,  no  less  than 
social,  cleavage  is  between  those  who  own  the  land 
and  those  who  do  not,  between  those  who  now  carry 
the  burdens  of  government  and  those  who  have  re- 
lieved themselves  therefrom. 

The  incomes  which  the  landed  gentry  enjoy  in 
the  form  of  rents  probably  exceed  a  thousand  mil- 
lions of  dollars  each  year.  This  is  the  first  tax 
upon  the  life  and  industry  of  the  nation.1  It  must 
be  paid  before  any  activity  is  possible.    It  is  paid 

by  labour,  and  can  come  from   no    other   source. 

irThe  capital  value  of  the  land,  apart  from  the  houses,  etc., 
of  the  United  Kingdom  can  only  be  approximated,  inasmuch 
as  land  is  not  valued  in  such  a  way  as  to  appear  either  in  the 
census  returns  or  the  tax-rolls  of  the  country.  The  income 
tax  returns  are  based  upon  the  rentals  of  the  property,  which 
are  not  a  fair  measure  of  the  real  value  of  the  property.  The 
same  thing  is  true  of  the  local  rates.  Land  which  is  not 
used,  or  which  is  carelessly  developed,  is  returned  at  an  insig- 
nificant rental  value.  The  Financial  Reform  Almanac  for  1905 
gives  the  gross  annual  rental  value  of  the  land  alone  at  £194,- 
000,000,  or  about  $1,000,000,000.  At  five  per  cent,  this  would 
give  a  capitalised  value  of  $20,000,000,000,  which,  measured  by 
American  land  values,  seems  very  low.  For  this  includes  as 
land  the  railways,  canals,  mines,  quarries,  and  franchises. 
Other  authorities  have  placed  the  annual  rental  value  at 
£250,000,000,  or  $1,250,000,000,  which  would  give  a  capitalised 
value  of  $25,000,000,000.  This  land  is  now  on  the  tax  dupli- 
cate at  a  valuation  fixed  in  1692,  a  valuation  which  has  never 
been  revised  owing  to  a  resolution  of  Parliament  that  the 
land  tax,  amounting  at  that  time  to  $10,000,000,  should  never 
be  increased. 


324  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

There  is  no  Fortunatas  purse  out  from  which  the 
rent  rolls  of  the  aristocracy  can  be  paid.  This  co- 
lossal burden  rests  upon  the  backs  of  the  producing 
classes.  It  is  paid  by  forty-one  millions  of  people 
to  the  merest  handful  of  persons  who  have  created 
this  servitude  through  their  long-continued  con- 
trol of  the  government. 

In  addition  to  competitive  rents,  the  producing 
classes  are  burdened  with  almost  all  of  the  local 
taxes  as  well.  For  Parliament,  like  the  privileged 
interests  so  active  in  America,  has  relieved  the 
property  which  its  members  own  from  the  necessity 
of  contributing  to  the  maintenance  of  local  govern- 
ment. 

But  this  is  only  the  beginning  of  the  long  list  of 
special  privileges  which  those  who  rule  Great  Brit- 
ain have  created  for  themselves.  Not  content  with 
shifting  the  local  taxes  from  their  own  property, 
the  bulk  of  the  imperial  taxes  have  been  cast  upon 
the  defenseless  classes  as  well.  This  is  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  England  derives  $200,000,000  a  year 
from  the  income  and  inheritance  taxes.  For  the 
fiscal  year  1905,  out  of  a  total  revenue  of  $G00,000,- 
000  from  all  sources,  the  customs  and  the  excise 
yielded  $340,000,000.  This  sum  was  collected  from 
the  necessities  of  life.  There  is  no  attempt  to  dis- 
guise the  nature  of  these  taxes,  or  the  motive  of 
their  imposition,  as  is  done  in  America.  They  are 
levied  upon  articles  of  common  consumption.  They 


INDUSTRIAL  DEMOCRACY  325 

are  paid  by  the  poor.  More  than  one-half  of  the 
imperial  revenue  comes  from  sugar,  tea,  cocoa,  cof- 
fee, tobacco,  and  other  articles  of  daily  use.  The 
privileged  classes  cry  out  loudly  against  the  income 
tax  and  the  death  duties,  while  the  masses,  who  pay 
the  bulk  of  the  taxes,  sink  sullenly  into  poverty 
without  knowing  why,  under  the  burden  of  com- 
petitive rents,  local  rates,  and  consumption  taxes, 
whose  aggregate  amount  exceeds  two  thousand  mil- 
lion dollars  a  year.  As  Tolstoy  has  said,  the  aris- 
tocracy of  a  country  will  do  everything  for  the  poor 
except  to  get  olf  their  backs. 

Were  all  of  the  local  and  all  of  the  imperial  taxes 
levied  upon  the  capital  value  of  the  land,  the  bur- 
dens would  be  shifted  from  those  least  able  to  bear 
them  on  to  those  best  able  to  do  so.  Even  then  the 
few  hundred  thousand  at  the  top  would  be  left  in 
the  enjoyment  of  unearned  incomes  of  hundreds  of 
millions  of  dollars  a  year. 

But  the  agitation  for  the  taxation  of  land  values 
promoted  by  the  Town  Councils  and  adopted  as 
its  industrial  programme  by  the  present  Liberal 
party  is,  least  of  all,  a  fiscal  expedient  designed 
to  relieve  the  overburdened  rate-payers.  The  move- 
ment has  a  far  deeper  purpose.  To  the  constantly 
increasing  body  of  men  who,  since  the  time  of  John 
Stuart  Mill  and  Henry  George,  have  advocated  the 
appropriation  by  the  community  of  a  portion  of 
the  incomes  of  the  landed  gentry,  the  taxation  of 


326  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

land  values  is  a  social  even  more  than  a  fiscal  phil- 
osophy. It  is  not  the  relief  of  the  overburdened 
rate-payer  that  inspires  the  movement  so  much  as 
an  opportunity  of  access  to  the  resources  of  nature. 
It  is  a  new  dispensation,  in  which  the  earth  will  be 
reclaimed  by  the  people,  that  has  inspired  workers 
in  every  quarter  of  the  world  to  a  belief  in  the  single 
tax  imposed  upon  the  value  of  the  land  alone.  And 
no  country  in  Christendom  is  so  inviting  an  experi- 
ment station  for  its  adoption  as  is  Great  Britain. 
In  no  nation  is  the  land  more  closely  monopolised 
or  the  people  more  completely  exiled  from  its  use. 

Were  the  taxes  upon  the  land  increased  to  two 
hundred  million  dollars  (which  the  land  would  pay 
if  it  were  assessed  at  the  rate  of  four  shillings  in 
the  pound,  which  is  about  the  equivalent  of  one 
per  cent,  upon  the  capital  value)  owners  could  no 
longer  sit  idly  on  their  colossal  estates.  Then 
they  would  be  compelled  to  make  use  of  their  land, 
or  permit  someone  else  to  do  so.  Great  hunting 
preserves  would  be  brought  into  cultivation.  They 
would  blossom  under  the  hands  of  industry.  They 
would  become  the  homes  of  humanity  rather  than 
the  breeding  ground  of  wild  game.  The  master  of 
the  hounds  would  then  erect  comfortable  cottages 
instead  of  kennels  for  his  dogs.  Millions  of  other 
acres  now  lying  idle,  or  used  for  grazing  fancy  cat- 
tle, would  be  converted  into  peasant  farms.  The 
independent  yeoman,  once  so  universal,  would  be 


INDUSTRIAL  DEMOCRACY  327 

lured  back  to  the  land  from  which  he  has  been  dis- 
possessed, and  in  which  he  had  an  inalienable  right 
until  the  landlords  appropriated  the  common  lands 
to  themselves  by  enclosure  acts  and  similar  legis- 
lation. For  a  great  part  of  the  land  of  Great  Britain 
was  the  common  possession  of  all  the  people  up  to 
the  first  half  of  the  nineteenth  century. 

The  taxation  of  land  values,  or  landlords'  rent, 
would  stimulate  the  owner  to  activity.  The  English 
village  would  come  to  life  again.  Owners  would 
be  forced  to  compete  for  tenants  in  order  to  meet 
the  demands  of  the  state.  They  would  develop  their 
holdings,  not  devastate  them  for  the  pleasure  of 
the  chase.  Great  Britain  would  soon  be  her  own 
market  garden.  Instead  of  eight  million  people 
upon  the  countryside  there  would  soon  be  twice 
that  number.  And  this  competition  on  the  part  of 
owners  for  tenants  would  lead  to  a  reduction  in 
rents,  just  as  the  competition  on  the  part  of  tenants 
leads  to  their  increase.  The  very  necessities  of  the 
landlord  would  increase  the  opportunities  of  labour. 
This  result  inevitably  follows  a  tax  levied  upon 
the  value  of  land  directly.  The  higher  the  tax  the 
greater  the  stimulus  to  production.  Such  a  tax 
operates  upon  the  owner  just  as  rent  acts  upon  the 
tenant.  That  is  what  such  a  tax  upon  land  values 
is  in  effect;  it  is  a  rent  charge  payable  to  the  state. 
And  just  as  the  agricultural  tenant  is  forced  by 
necessity  to  make  the  best  possible  use  of  his  hold- 


328  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

ings  in  order  to  meet  the  rental  to  his  landlord,  so 
the  owner  who  now  indulges  his  days  in  idle  pleas- 
ures would  then  be  forced  to  devote  himself  to  his 
estate  in  order  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  com- 
munity. And  the  tax  upon  land  values  is  the  only 
tax  which  is  a  stimulus  to  production.  All  others 
are  a  burden  upon  industry  and  a  charge  upon 
labour.  Moreover,  the  land  values  tax  cannot  be 
shifted.    It  remains  where  it  first  falls. 

Not  that  the  full  effect  of  such  a  change  would 
follow  from  the  imposition  of  a  rate  of  four  shil- 
lings in  the  pound.  For  the  rate  in  America  very 
often  exceeds  one  per  cent.,  and  even  we  are  begin- 
ning to  suffer  from  the  burdens  of  speculative  land 
monopoly.  But  it  would  do  much.  At  one  stroke 
it  would  relieve  the  overburdened  rate-payers  of 
more  than  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  of  local 
taxes.  It  would  do  more  than  a  thousand  Parlia- 
mentary colonies  to  call  the  people  back  to  the  land. 
It  would  be  automatic.  It  would  require  no  state 
aid.  The  owner  of  the  land  would  hasten  to  the  cities 
to  find  labour  for  his  estates.  He  would  erect  cot- 
tages. He  would  be  forced  to  make  life  attractive 
to  the  people.  Soon  there  would  be  jobs  hunting 
people,  instead  of  people  hunting  jobs.  As  the  rate 
was  increased  conditions  would  further  improve. 
A  tax  of  eight  shillings  on  the  pound,  or  two  per 
cent,  upon  the  capital  value  of  the  land,  would  still 
further  stimulate  the  exodus   to   the  countryside. 


INDUSTRIAL  DEMOCRACY  329 

In  a  short  time  wages  would  rise.  For  wages  are 
highest  when  rent  is  low,  just  as  they  are  lowest 
when  rent  is  high.  Kent  and  wages  are  reciprocal. 
They  are  dependent  upon  one  another.  The  higher 
the  rate  of  the  tax  upon  the  value  of  the  land  the 
greater  the  necessity  of  cultivation.  And  as  the 
land  comes  into  use  the  greater  the  demand  for 
labour. 

The  imposition  of  such  a  tax  is  an  automatic 
means  of  ushering  in  another  reform.  Free  trade 
in  land  would  come  of  necessity.  Parliament  would 
speedily  permit  of  its  alienation.  The  law  of  set- 
tlements, of  entails,  of  primogeniture,  would  pass 
away  in  the  interests  of  the  landlords,  just  as  they 
came  into  existence  for  the  preservation  of  their 
power.  For  those  who  could  not  make  use  of  their 
estates  would  seek  to  dispose  of  them  to  someone 
who  would.  Under  such  a  system  of  taxation  the 
easy  alienation  of  property  would  follow  of  neces- 
sity. 

The  cities  would  respond  to  the  invigorating  in- 
fluence of  such  a  tax  as  well  as  the  country  districts. 
For  the  city,  no  less  than  the  countryside,  is  filled 
with  unused  land.  Under  existing  conditions  the 
slum  lord  can  leave  his  land  unoccupied  and  unim- 
proved, just  as  the  country  squire  can  give  it  over 
to  his  hounds  to  course  upon.  The  owner  can  wait 
until  the  city  builds  up  to  his  holdings  before  he 
lets  go  of  them.    Then  the  land  is  leased  for  build- 


330  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

ing  purposes.  In  time  the  lease  is  revalued.  The 
owner  does  nothing  to  give  value  to  the  land,  yet 
by  the  mere  growth  of  population  he  is  automati- 
cally enriched.  All  of  the  unearned  increment  flows 
into  his  purse.  There  is  little  reason  for  the  slum 
lords  to  build,  for  society  is  daily  adding  to  their 
wealth  by  the  mere  growth  of  population.  Were 
the  land  taxed  at  its  capital  value,  as  is  done  in 
America,  it  would  be  impossible  to  sit  thus  idly 
upon  the  premises. 

The  naked  land  underlying  London  is  probably 
worth  six  thousand  million  dollars.  The  site  values 
of  New  York  are  worth  more  than  two-thirds  that 
sum,  with  less  than  one-half  the  population.  The 
London  land  owners  pay  in  direct  taxes  less  than 
one  million  of  dollars  per  annum.  The  land- 
lords of  New  York  pay  over  fifty  millions  of  dollars 
in  taxes  upon  the  naked  land  alone.  Were  the  land 
of  London  taxed  at  one  per  cent,  of  its  capital  value, 
or  approximately  four  shillings  of  its  present  possi- 
ble rental,  it  would  pay  sixty  millions  of  dollars 
a  year  to  the  relief  of  local  taxation,  or  nearly  as 
much  as  the  total  local  revenues  of  the  metropolis. 
Were  it  taxed  as  it  is  in  New  York,  at  eight  shil- 
lings in  the  pound,  or  two  per  cent,  on  its  value, 
it  would  pay  over  one  hundred  millions. 

Measures  for  the  separate  valuation  of  the  land 
from  the  improvements,  and  the  levy  of  a  local  rate 
upon  the  value  of  the  land  alone,  have  been  before 


INDUSTRIAL  DEMOCRACY  331 

Parliament  on  several  occasions,  but  the  bills  never 
got  beyond  their  second  readings.  The  opposition 
of  the  landed  interests  was  so  great  that  even  a  vote 
upon  the  final  passage  could  not  be  secured.  It  is 
upon  some  such  measure  as  this,  to  which  the  Lib- 
eral party  is  pledged,  that  the  impending  conflict 
between  democracy  and  privilege  is  likely  to  be 
waged.1  The  towns  are  almost  a  unit  for  its  adop- 

'Measures  for  the  rating  of  land  values  or  the  levying  of  a 
direct  tax  on  the  value  of  the  land  have  been  introduced  into 
Parliament  on  several  occasions.  In  1902  Mr.  Trevelyan  intro- 
duced the  "Urban  Site  Value  Rating  Bill,"  which  empowered 
Town  Councils  to  separately  value  land  and  improvements  and 
assess  the  actual  value  of  the  land  at  the  rate  of  two  shillings 
in  the  pound.  In  1903  Dr,  Macnamara  presented  the  "Land 
Values  Assessment  and  Rating  Bill,"  which  applied  only  to 
urban  authorities  and  permitted  a  local  tax  equivalent  to  one 
penny  on  the  pound  of  actual  capital  value,  measured  by  the 
same  rule  as  is  applied  in  America.  During  the  present  ses- 
sion of  Parliament  a  measure  for  Scotland  was  introduced, 
which  is  understood  to  be  but  a  forerunner  of  a  similar  meas- 
ure for  England.  The  conditions  of  the  two  countries  are  so 
different  that  the  matter  had  to  be  treated  under  seperate  bills. 
The  Scotch  measure  provides  for  a  tax  of  two  shillings  on  the 
pound.  But  the  special  committee  on  the  subject  recommended 
that  the  measure  be  delayed  until  the  land  was  assessed.  For 
there  is  as  yet  no  means  of  knowing  what  the  land  is  really 
worth.  With  that  obtained  it  is  proposed  to  bring  forward 
the  taxing  measure.  This  can  be  done  in  two  ways.  Either 
as  a  means  for  raising  local  revenues,  in  which  case  it  would 
be  open  to  the  disapproval  of  the  House  of  Lords,  who  would 
probably  interpose  a  veto.  The  other  method  is  to  include  the 
land  tax  as  part  of  the  budget.  This  the  House  of  Commons 
controls,  for  the  Lords  have  no  authority  over  revenue  meas- 
ures. The  present  Prime  Minister  is  in  sympathy  with  the 
programme  for  the  taxation  of  land  values  and  the  great  ma- 
jority of  Parliament  is  committed  to  it  by  their  election 
pledges.  There  is  a  possibility  that  some  measure,  either  for 
local  or  state  purposes,  will  pass  the  present  session. 


332  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

tion,  and  about  this  movement  industrial  democ- 
racy in  Great  Britain  is  massed.  It  is  the  first  real 
expression  of  democracy  since  the  Reform  Bills  of 
the  early  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.  That 
movement  was  inspired  by  the  awakened  ambitions 
of  the  industrial  classes,  who  desired  to  be  admitted 
to  a  share  of  the  government.  The  new  democracy 
includes  many  young  men  from  the  universities,  as 
well  as  the  Fabian  socialists,  the  labour  members, 
and  the  shop-keeping  classes  of  the  towns. 

While  the  relief  of  the  overburdened  rate-payers 
would  be  the  first  and  most  obvious  effect  of  the 
taxation  of  land  values,  this  would  be  but  incidental 
to  the  social  and  industrial  advantages  which  would 
follow.  Just  as  the  countryside  would  blossom 
with  new  life  through  the  opening  up  of  broad  es- 
tates to  tillage,  so  the  city  itself  would  awaken 
through  the  stimulus  to  industry.  Land  now  lying 
idle  would  be  built  upon.  Property  worth  thou- 
sands of  dollars  a  front  foot  could  no  longer  be 
left  vacant.  Some  means  would  have  to  be  found 
to  meet  the  demands  of  the  city.  Mediaeval  build- 
ings would  be  rebuilt.  Shacks  and  rookeries  would 
come  down.  Great  suburban  estates,  now  idly  held 
for  pleasure  or  speculation,  would  come  into  the 
market  to  be  built  upon.  Soon  landlords  would 
compete  for  tenants.  The  owners  themselves  would 
build  model  dwellings,  or  lease  the  land  to  someone 
who  would.    For  there  is  land  enough  to  house  all 


INDUSTRIAL  DEMOCRACY  333 

London  decently,  and  labour  enough,  to  erect  the 
buildings.  In  time  the  towns  would  spread  over 
wider  areas.  The  surrounding  territory  would  ap- 
peal for  occupancy.  Better  homes  would  be  built, 
and  the  fearful  death  rate  of  the  slums  would  di- 
minish. No  longer  would  it  be  necessary  for  the 
cities  to  erect  model  tenements.  Self-interest  would 
compel  the  landlords  to  do  so,  just  as  it  supplies 
the  motive  for  the  erection  of  the  splendid  office 
buildings  of  the  American  cities. 

Only  when  the  landlords  are  forced  by  necessity 
to  make  use  of  their  holdings  will  they  do  so.  A 
rate  of  four  shillings  in  the  pound  would  be  a  stimu* 
lus.  To-day  it  is  profitable  to  create  a  scarcity  of 
homes  in  order  to  secure  a  monopoly  rent.  Thrift 
is  taxed  because  of  its  thrift.  The  idle  go  un- 
touched. If  the  state  is  to  discriminate  at  all,  it 
should  be  to  punish  the  owner  of  the  shack  and 
encourage  him  who  makes  decent  homes  for  the 
people.  This  stimulus  to  the  use  of  land  now  lying 
vacant  would  usher  in  a  new  industrial  order.  This 
gain  would  transcend  all  others.  The  cry  of  the 
countryside  for  labour  would  relieve  the  labour 
pressure  of  the  cities.  Labour  would  then  command 
a  higher  wage.  The  relief  of  industry  from  taxa- 
tion would  still  further  stimulate  enterprise.  The 
poor  rate,  which  now  amounts  to  eighty  millions 
of  dollars  for  the  maintenance  of  a  million  paupers, 
would  diminish.     In  time  it  would  tend  to  disap- 


334  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

pear  altogether.  The  erection  of  homes  would  stim- 
ulate the  building  industry.  Mines  now  lying  idle 
would  be  forced  into  use.  The  call  of  the  land  would 
offer  homes  for  millions.  The  prices  of  fuel,  of 
food  stuffs,  of  rents,  would  fall  in  consequence  of 
the  increased  supply. 

Along  with  the  increase  in  wages,  the  reduction 
in  the  burdens  of  taxation  and  the  improvement  in 
sanitary  surroundings,  would  come  an  improvement 
in  the  physical  efficiency  of  the  people.  To-day  the 
British  labourer  is  in  a  state  of  physical  exhaus- 
tion. Even  Parliament  has  recognised  this  fact, 
and  provided  for  an  investigation  into  the  subject 
in  1904.  The  condition  of  the  population  has 
alarmed  the  War  Office.  Fifty  per  cent,  of  the  can- 
didates for  military  service  from  London  had  to  be 
rejected  because  they  were  physically  unfit,  while 
of  those  offering  themselves  at  Sheffield,  York,  and 
Leeds,  over  forty-seven  per  cent,  were  reported  as 
deficient  in  physical  character  and  stamina.  A  large 
part  of  the  people  of  Great  Britain  are  undernour- 
ished, badly  housed,  and  underpaid. 

The  taxation  of  land  values  is  thus  not  an  iso- 
lated question.  It  lies  at  the  very  heart  of  the  life 
of  Great  Britain.  It  explains  the  monopoly  of  the 
land,  its  use  as  game  preserves  by  the  few,  and  the 
disease-breeding  tenements  crowded  by  the  many. 
To  thousands  its  adoption  is  a  social  philosophy. 
They  recognise  that  the  life  of  a  people  is  controlled 


INDUSTRIAL  DEMOCRACY  335 

by  its  resources.  They  accept  the  economic  inter- 
pretation of  society.  They  see  that  their  country 
is  being  destroyed  through  the  oppression  of  the 
aristocracy  and  misuse  of  power  by  the  land-owning 
classes.  They  would  relieve  the  unequal  distribu- 
tion of  wealth,  not  through  socialism,  but  through 
the  appropriation  by  the  state  of  all  of  the  social 
value  which  society  itself  has  given  to  the  land. 
They  would  open  the  resources  of  the  nation  to  all 
of  the  people  through  the  pressure  of  direct  taxa- 
tion, which  would  force  the  landed  gentry  to  relin- 
quish their  monopoly  holdings  and  turn  them  over 
to  productive  uses  by  the  people.  Such  is  the  pro- 
gramme of  the  new  and  militant  democracy  of  Great 
Britain. 

But  if  history  offers  any  guidance,  the  House  of 
Lords  will  be  a  unit  in  its  opposition  to  any  such 
bill.  It  will  not  submit  without  a  struggle  to  the 
impairment  of  its  privileges.  For  this  is  a  measure 
which  strikes  at  the  root  of  the  power  of  the  aris- 
tocracy. It  is  not  a  party  struggle,  it  is  an  eco- 
nomic one,  just  such  a  struggle  as  took  place  in 
Rome  during  the  last  two  centuries  of  the  republic; 
just  such  a  struggle  as  preceded  the  Revolution  in 
France ;  just  such  a  struggle  as  is  being  witnessed 
in  Russia  to-day. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW 

It  is  strange  that  no  great  mind  has  lent  its  con- 
structive powers  to  the  city.  While  men  are  dream- 
ing of  colonial  empires,  of  continent-wide  railway 
systems,  of  the  perfection  of  armaments,  of  the 
building  of  monster  Dreadnoughts,  of  sky-towering 
structures,  and  the  possibilities  of  aerial  naviga- 
tion, no  one  has  offered  us  a  vision  of  the  city  that 
would  use  all  of  the  agencies  of  science  and  inven- 
tion for  the  well-being  of  the  people.  Neither  the 
statesman  nor  the  administrator,  the  poet  nor  the 
philosopher,  the  architect  nor  the  builder,  have 
thought  of  the  city  as  worthy  of  their  efforts. 

The  cities  of  ancient  Greece,  and  the  mediaeval 
Italian  towns,  were  the  inspiration  of  every  mind. 
Their  makers  were  conscious  of  the  splendour  of 
their  canvas.  They  built  as  Michael  Angelo  painted, 
as  the  cathedral  builders  of  the  Middle  Ages  ex- 
pressed the  ideals  of  their  times.  Art,  education, 
beauty,  comfort,  were  consciously  studied.  Every- 
thing was  subordinated  to  life,  of  which  the  city 
was  the  centre.  This  was  the  motive  of  the  early 
city  builders.     Thus  the  princes  of  Europe,  in  a 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW  337 

later  age,  looked  upon  their  towns.  In  order  that 
the  Head  City  might  be  worthy  of  its  Kingdom, 
tribute  was  laid  upon  every  people  and  upon  every 
art.  So  the  first  and  the  third  Napoleons  viewed 
Paris.  Jefferson,  almost  alone  in  Great  Britain 
or  America,  saw  the  city  as  a  whole.  From  the  Old 
World  he  called  a  city  builder  to  design  the  capital 
of  the  new  nation.  To-day,  Washington  and  the 
country  are  awakening  to  an  appreciation  of  the 
prescience  of  his  dreams.  But  the  ideals  of  earlier 
ages  were  those  of  beauty,  adornment,  of  patronage 
of  the  arts  and  sciences.  The  city  makers  of  the 
past  were  content  with  the  visible  foundations  and 
surroundings.  Democracy,  and  the  great  discover- 
ies which  have  made  the  nineteenth  century  pre- 
eminently an  industrial  age,  were  wanting. 

The  city  of  to-morrow  will  mean  very  much  more 
than  splendid  streets  and  public  structures,  art, 
and  physical  beauty.  These  are  but  the  ground 
plans.  Political  democracy  has  added  a  new  ele- 
ment. New  tools  have  been  placed  in  the  hands  of 
the  people.  The  most  important  of  these  are  the 
power  of  taxation  and  the  common  ownership  of 
many  industrial  undertakings,  to  be  used  for  the 
welfare  of  all.  These,  with  a  free  people,  free  to 
govern  themselves,  free  to  decide  all  matters  of  lo- 
cal concern,  untrammelled  by  some  government 
above,  are  the  agencies  by  which  the  city  of  the 
next  generation  will  find  itself. 


338  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

For  good  or  for  evil,  the  city  is  the  most  porten- 
tous fact  of  the  twentieth  century.  And,  free  to 
respond  to  the  needs  of  the  people,  it  will  become 
the  most  inviting  canvas  ever  offered  the  artist  or 
the  architect,  the  philanthropist  or  the  statesman. 
To  be  Prime  Minister  of  a  great  municipality  will 
be  more  alluring  than  to  be  governor  of  a  common- 
wealth or  the  president  of  the  world's  greatest  cor- 
poration. For  in  the  years  that  are  coming  all  of 
the  agencies  of  science  and  invention  will  be 
pressed  into  the  service  of  the  city.  Then  the 
contributions  of  twenty  centuries  of  civilisation 
will  struggle  in  its  service.  Then  men  will  serve 
the  city  with  an  eagerness  that  the  claims  of  busi- 
ness do  not  now  command. 

The  city  of  to-morrow  need  know  no  degrading 
poverty,  no  corruption.  For  poverty  and  corrup- 
tion are  of  our  own  making.  They  are  the  products, 
and  the  inevitable  products,  of  privilege.  They  are 
the  creatures  of  legislation.  This  is  true  of  Great 
Britain  as  it  is  of  America.  Poverty  is  not  volun- 
tary, not  personal.  It  is  traceable  to  economic  en- 
vironment, and  chiefly  to  the  monopoly  of  the  earth 
and  the  laws  of  our  own  creation.  This  is  seen 
wherever  man  is  given  an  opportunity  to  better 
his  condition.  Even  the  penal  colonies  of  Aus- 
tralasia became  self-respecting  communities  under 
the  invigorating  influence  of  opportunity.  All 
America  bears  testimony  to  the  same  principle.  For 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW  339 

America  was  peopled  by  the  dispossessed  of  other 
lands.  And  from  whatever  corner  of  the  earth  men 
came,  they  responded  quickly  to  the  new  chance 
which  democracy  opened  to  them  in  the  form  of 
economic  freedom.  To-day,  poverty,  vice,  and  crime 
are  as  open  to  correction  as  they  are  to  creation. 
Just  as  costly  privileges  have  been  created  in  the 
interests  of  a  few,  through  the  rule  of  a  class,  so 
equal  opportunity  will  be  offered  to  all  through  the 
rule  of  the  people.  It  is  in  the  city  that  democracy 
will  first  become  conscious  of  these  powers,  con- 
scious of  the  common  life  of  the  community,  and  of 
the  power  of  organised  government  to  promote  the 
well-being  of  the  people  by  positive  political  action. 
And  when  the  city  does  awaken  it  will  surpass  the 
historic  cities  of  Greece  and  Italy  in  the  splendour 
of  its  achievements.  For  to  all  the  greatness  which 
they  commanded  will  be  added  the  element  of  mod- 
ern democracy,  whose  possibilities  are  only  begin- 
ning to  be  tested  in  the  realm  of  industrial  co- 
operation. 

Even  to-day  the  city  contains  more  of  hope  than 
of  despair.  It  is  the  centre  of  the  best  as  well  as 
of  the  worst.  During  the  past  few  years  ideals  have 
been  forming.  In  the  contest  with  privilege  they 
have  taken  shape.  The  people  are  learning  to  make 
use  of  tools  that  have  been  misused  to  destroy  rath- 
er than  to  promote  democracy.  In  America,  no  less 
than  in  Great  Britain,  the  possibilities  of  the  city 


340  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

are  becoming  apparent.  Industrial  democracy  is 
seeking  expression  in  municipal  ownership,  in 
juster  taxation,  in  beautiful  structures,  in  schools, 
parks,  libraries,  playgrounds,  in  museums,  gym- 
nasiums, art  galleries,  in  a  hundred  means  for 
the  broadening  out  of  the  possibilities  of  life.  Our 
sympathies  are  being  widened.  The  solicitude  for 
privilege  and  property  is  on  the  wane.  There  is 
an  awakening  belief  in  the  power  of  government 
to  affect  the  distribution  of  wealth.  This  convic- 
tion is  reflected  all  over  the  world.  Social  reform 
is  seeking  to  make  use  of  the  city  as  an  experiment 
station.  The  necessities  of  life  itself  compel  the 
most  conservative  to  assent  to  an  increase  in  the 
functions  of  the  community.  In  the  city,  opinion 
is  plastic.  It  is  sympathetic  to  the  demands  of 
humanity.  The  city  has  been  trained  to  a  reliance 
upon  itself.  The  needs  of  education,  of  health,  po- 
lice, and  fire  protection  have  forced  upon  the  city 
countless  activities  to  which  the  country  districts 
are  alien.  And  the  cities  of  Europe,  and,  to  an  in- 
creasing extent,  the  cities  of  America,  have  justified 
the  confidence  reposed  in  them.  The  people  have 
learned  to  trust  themselves  in  their  collective  capac- 
ity. They  could  not  be  induced  to  abandon  any  of 
the  activities  which  have  been  undertaken,  or  pass 
them  back  to  private  hands.  In  a  hundred  ways 
the  city  is  being  socialised.  It  has  taken  on  a  sense 
of  togetherness,  of  fraternal  dependence.    This  be- 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW  341 

lief  in  co-operative  effort,  acting  not  through  vol- 
untary association,  but  through  compulsory  politi- 
cal agencies,  is  one  of  the  greatest  assets  of  modern 
society.  It  is  this  that  distinguishes  it  from  the 
past.  It  is  through  co-operative  political  effort 
that  the  civilisation  of  the  future  will  be  reared. 

A  mere  enumeration  of  the  activities  of  a  highly 
organised  city  like  Glasgow,  The  London  County 
Council,  Berlin,  or  Cleveland,  would  fill  many 
pages.  The  community  touches  us  at  every  turn. 
It  is  far  more  important  than  the  nation.  It  pro- 
tects us,  educates  us,  offers  recreation  and  a  hun- 
dred services  which,  if  rendered  by  individual  ini- 
tiative, would  result  in  chaos.  And  the  cost  of  it 
all  is  insignificant.  In  America,  the  per  capita  ex- 
penditures of  the  average  city  of  a  quarter  of  a  mil- 
lion inhabitants  range  from  $12  to  $35  a  head.  They 
rarely  exceed  $20.  In  the  city  of  Glasgow  they 
are  about  $11  a  head.  This  is  the  cost  of  the 
schools,  the  parks,  the  libraries,  of  city  buildings, 
art  museums,  music,  and  other  forms  of  education 
and  recreation.  It  includes  the  cleaning  and  the 
lighting  of  the  streets,  the  maintenance  of  the  po- 
lice, health,  and  fire  departments,  the  administra- 
tion of  justice,  and  the  care  of  the  dependent  and 
the  criminal  classes.  At  this  insignificant  cost, 
which  would  not  provide  education  for  a  single 
child  at  a  private  school,  the  city  serves  us  in  a 
multitude  of  ways.    And  this  socialisation  of  life  is 


342  THE  BKITISH  CITY 

really  only  beginning.  This  is  seen  all  over  Amer- 
ica as  it  is  in  Europe.  Along  with  the  movement 
for  the  ownership  of  the  public  service  corporations 
is  a  great  increase  in  the  minor  activities  of  the 
community.  The  city  is  seeking  to  relieve  the  cost 
of  the  industrial  struggle.  It  is  opening  neighbour- 
hood parks,  playgrounds,  and  bath  houses.  It  is 
supplying  kindergartens  and  creches.  It  is  adding 
to  the  school  curriculum.  Children  are  cared  for 
by  public  physicians  and  nurses.  Meals  are  being 
offered  at  an  insignificant  cost,  or  at  no  cost  at  all. 
There  are  gymnasiums  and  lecture  courses  which 
are  open  to  the  parents  as  well  as  to  the  children. 
The  public  school  buildings  are  being  erected  so 
as  to  serve  as  local  centres,  to  be  used  in  the  even- 
ing as  places  of  meeting  and  recreation.  Music, 
art,  and  many  means  of  popular  culture  are  being 
brought  to  all  classes.  The  social  settlement  will 
become  in  time  a  city  club.  It  will  be  a  winter 
park.  Here  a  substitute  for  the  saloon  will  be  of- 
fered. And  when  we  consider  that  these  activities 
are  but  a  few  years  old  it  is  possible  to  get  some 
idea  of  the  rapidity  of  the  movement.  The  city  of 
the  next  generation  will  humanise  life  in  many 
ways.  There  will  be  public  parks  and  city  clubs 
in  every  ward.  About  these  centres  the  life  of  the 
district  will  centre.  The  city  will  stimulate  art, 
music  and  talent.  It  will  offer  recreation  in  abun- 
dance to  the  poorest. 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW  343 

The  city  of  to-morrow  will  be  a  place  in  which, 
to  live.  It  will  supply  so  many  things  and  at  so 
slight  a  cost  from  the  common  purse  that  the  prob- 
lem of  existence,  even  to  the  poorest,  will  be  greatly 
simplified.  Then  man's  work  will  serve  him,  not 
enslave  him.  For  the  ideals  of  that  city  will  not  be 
dividends  upon  property  so  much  as  dividends — 
in  the  form  of  happiness — on  life.  It  is  an  ideal 
which  will  call  to  the  service  of  humanity  the  great 
agencies  of  production  that  are  now  lost  to  us 
through  monopoly  in  private  hands.  We  need  only 
summon  to  the  aid  of  the  city  the  discoveries  that 
are  now  known,  and  the  talent  that  we  now  have, 
to  change  the  city  of  to-day  from  the  abode  of  much 
misery  and  suffering  to  the  greatest  agency  for 
happiness  the  world  has  ever  known.  All  this  in- 
volves a  reversal  of  our  ideals  of  government  from 
a  mere  agency  of  property  into  an  agency  for  hu- 
manity. It  involves  a  conception  of  the  city  as  an 
entity,  a  political  and  industrial  democracy,  de- 
signed for  the  use  of  people  rather  than  for  the  pro- 
tection of  privilege  and  property. 

It  is  this  dignity  which  privilege  enjoys  that  ex- 
plains the  poverty,  the  misery,  and  the  corruption 
of  the  city.  Everywhere  privilege  and  property  are 
exalted  above  human  life.  Humanity  is  subordi- 
nated to  inanimate  things.  The  right  of  the  slum 
lords  to  his  rents  is  a  higher  right  in  the  eyes  of 
the  law  than  the  right  of  the   helpless   tenement 


344  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

dweller  to  sunlight,  fresh  air,  and  freedom  from 
contagious  disease.  The  privileges  of  the  franchise 
corporation  in  the  streets,  corruptly  obtained 
though  they  may  have  been,  enjoy  a  higher  distinc- 
tion than  the  municipality,  whose  citizens  are  de- 
pendent upon  cheap  transit,  light,  and  water.  The 
members  of  the  British  Town  Councils  are  more 
solicitous  of  the  rate-payers  than  they  are  of  edu- 
cation, playgrounds,  and  the  decent  housing  of  the 
people.  It  is  the  subordination  of  every  other  con- 
sideration to  the  superior  rights  of  property  that 
explains  the  present  condition  of  our  cities.  We 
have  not  yet  learned  that  property  is  but  an  agency, 
a  means  of  happiness,  not  an  end  and  object  for 
which  society  is  organised.  In  Great  Britain,  as 
well  as  in  America,  the  land,  the  slums,  the  fran- 
chise corporation,  have  been  given  protection,  while 
humanity  dies  of  disease  or  starves  of  hunger. 
Throughout  all  of  our  thought  runs  the  assumption 
that  government  is  a  protector  of  property,  rather 
than  a  means  for  promoting  the  well-being  of  the 
people.  Not  until  this  ideal  passes  will  the  city 
begin  to  realise  its  possibilities.  Not  until  then 
will  its  ultimate  programme  be  open  to  adoption. 

In  this  awakening  America  will  probably  lead  the 
way,  hopeless  though  many  of  our  cities  now  ap- 
pear. Industrial  democracy  will  find  its  first  as 
well  as  its  fullest  expression  in  this  country. 
America  is  free  from  the  tyranny  of  the  past.    No 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW  345 

worn-out  institutions  camp  and  confine  our  imagi- 
nations. There  are  no  such  fearful  feudal  burdens 
as  the  old  world  staggers  under.  Here,  too,  the 
privileged  interests  are  more  easily  seen.  Tney  are 
limited  in  number.  Their  offences  may  not  be 
greater,  but  they  are  of  the  vulgar  sort,  against 
which  the  public  can  readily  organise.  In  Great 
Britain  all  privilege  is  protected  by  respectability. 
It  enjoys  an  age-long  lineage.  It  is  surrounded  by 
all  of  the  historic  distinctions  of  the  mother  coun- 
try. It  is  not  vulgarly  corrupt.  It  is  safeguarded 
by  the  rule  of  a  class  that  for  centuries  has  been 
identified  with  all  that  the  imagination  of  the 
Briton  holds  dear.  And  it  includes  as  its  hand- 
maiden the  Church  of  England  and  all  of  the  ave- 
nues of  social  advancement.  From  this  we  are 
happily  free. 

Long  before  this  psychical  evolution  is  complete 
there  will  be  a  change  in  the  physical  basis  of  the 
city.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  physical  must  precede 
the  psychical.  The  attitude  of  the  people  toward 
the  city  is  dependent  upon  the  control  by  the  city 
of  its  economic  environment.  The  physical  and  the 
mental  are  reciprocal.  There  can  be  no  big  city 
life  until  the  city  manifests  a  fraternal  regard  for 
the  people  and  appreciates  its  own  political  dignity. 
And,  first  of  all,  the  city  will  be  constructed  with 
a  conscious  physical  plan,  and  in  contemplation 
of  the  performance  of  many  services  now  in  pri- 


346  THE  BEITISH  CITY 

vate  hands  or  not  performed  at  all.  Its  foundations 
will  be  laid  in  advance  of  its  growth.  Provision 
will  be  made  for  transit  under  the  roadways.  Great 
conduits,  owned  by  the  city,  will  convey  water,  both 
hot  and  cold,  to  every  home.  These  conduits  will 
be  constructed  like  those  under  the  new  Kings  Way 
in  London.  Through  them  will  be  carried  the  gas, 
the  electricity,  the  telephone,  and  other  means  of 
communication  and  service.  Just  as  the  great  office 
buildings  are  going  far  underground  in  the  making 
of  their  foundations,  so  the  city  will  build  its 
streets,  in  anticipation  of  the  future  needs  of  the 
community.  Once  laid,  they  will  be  permanent. 
They  will  not  be  torn  up  by  half  a  dozen  warring 
agencies,  any  one  of  which  has  rights  more  dignified 
than  those  of  the  community  itself.  Through  these 
ducts  the  water,  light,  heat,  power,  and  means  of 
communication  will  be  conveyed.  Our  homes  will 
be  heated  as  well  as  lighted  by  the  city.  There  will 
be  an  end  of  coal  bins,  of  individual  furnaces  and 
fires,  of  all  of  the  dirt  and  labor  now  incident  to 
the  maintenance  of  heating  establishments  in  every 
home.  The  industry  of  the  city  will  be  supplied 
with  power  in  the  same  way.  And  all  of  these 
agencies  will  be  operated  from  a  common  central 
station.  All  of  the  lost  energy,  all  of  the  extrava- 
gant waste  that  now  goes  up  a  hundred  thousand 
chimneys  will  be  concentrated  in  a  single  plant, 
which  will  supply  power  and  heat  and  light  not 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW  347 

only  for  the  individual  consumer,  but  for  all  of  the 
great  public  services  of  the  community.  The  econ- 
omy resulting  from  such  a  union  of  energy  would 
justify  the  complete  rebuilding  of  a  city.  It  could 
all  be  paid  for  out  of  the  savings  of  a  few  years. 

Far  more  fundamental  to  the  problem  of  city 
building  than  the  ownership  of  these  services  are 
the  land  and  the  means  of  transportation.  For 
upon  these  the  homes  of  the  city  depend.  The  city 
of  to-morrow  is  not  to  be  a  tenement  city.  It  will 
be  spread  over  a  wide  area.  It  will  be  ruralised  in 
a  way  not  now  thought  to  be  possible.  Homes  will 
be  offered  to  the  worker  miles  from  the  city's  centre, 
in  cheap  and  rapid  communication  with  his  work. 
For  it  is  only  the  limitation  of  the  means  of  transit 
that  confine  the  city  to  its  present  restricted  area, 
restrictions  imposed  not  by  the  difficulties  of  the 
transportation  problem,  but  by  the  cupidity  of  pri- 
vate enterprise.  With  the  changes  now  taking  place 
in  the  use  of  electric  traction  it  will  be  possible 
to  live  fifty  or  a  hundred  miles  from  the  city's  cen- 
tre as  conveniently  as  it  is  now  possible  to  live  at 
one-tenth  of  that  distance.  When  the  city  devotes  as 
much  concern  to  the  homes  of  its  people  as  it  now 
devotes  to  the  erection  of  docks  and  the  develop- 
ment of  its  commercial  advantages,  the  housing 
problem  will  be  open  to  ready  solution.  For  the 
slum  and  the  tenement  are  the  product  of  land  mon- 
opoly, which  in  turn  is  traceable  to  the  system  of 


348  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

taxation,  and  the  inadequacy  of  the  means  of  trans- 
portation. 

Many  of  the  municipalities  of  Germany  provide 
for  the  cheap  and  expeditious  transit  of  working- 
men  into  the  suburbs.  In  Great  Britain  the  Town 
Councils  have  done  what  they  could  in  this  direc- 
tion, but  the  monopoly  of  the  land  has  thwarted 
their  efforts  to  do  very  much.  Belgium  has  proba- 
bly done  more  than  any  other  country  to  enable  its 
people  to  live  at  a  distance  from  their  work.  Most 
of  the  railways  are  owned  by  the  state,  and  for  the 
last  fifteen  years  the  government  has  consciously 
pursued  a  policy  of  distributing  the  population  into 
the  countryside.  Workingmen's  tickets  are  sold  at 
very  low  rates.  For  the  insignificant  sum  of  forty- 
three  cents  it  is  possible  to  travel  a  distance  of  31 
miles  a  day  for  six  days  in  the  week.  Longer  dis- 
tances are  arranged  on  a  similar  schedule.  This  is 
but  little  more  than  half  the  cost  of  street  railway 
fares  to  the  American  workman.  Through  this  pol- 
icy the  population  has  been  lured  out  into  the  coun- 
try villages.  In  1875  the  number  of  such  tickets 
sold  was  but  193,675.  In  1901  the  number  had  in- 
creased to  4,412,723.  It  is  estimated  that  one-ninth 
of  the  industrial  workers  of  Belgium  employed  in 
the  towns  continue  to  live  in  the  country,  where 
they  are  able  to  own  a  patch  of  ground,  and,  along 
with  the  superior  advantages  of  the  city,  enjoy  the 
economic  opportunities  of  the  country.    Describing 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MOKROW  349 

the  effect  of  this  policy  on  the  appearance  of  the 
country,  Professor  Vandervelde,  from  whose  arti- 
cle these  facts  are  taken,  says :  "Nothing  surprises 
the  traveller  who  goes  from  London  to  Brussels 
more  than  the  contrast  between  the  solitary 
stretches  of  pasture  in  Kent  and  the  animated  land- 
scapes in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Belgian  towns. 
Enter  Hesbaye  or  Flanders  from  whatever  side  one 
may,  the  country  is  everywhere  thickly  strewn  with 
white,  red-roofed  houses,  some  of  them  standing 
alone,  others  lying  close  together  in  populous  vil- 
lages. If,  however,  one  spends  a  day  in  one  of  the 
villages — I  mean  one  of  those  in  which  there  is  no 
local  industry — one  hardly  sees  a  grown  up  work- 
man in  the  place,  and  almost  believes  that  the  popu- 
lation consists  almost  entirely  of  old  people  and 
children.  But  in  the  evening  quite  a  different  pic- 
ture is  seen.  We  find  ourselves,  for  example,  some 
twelve  or  thirteen  miles  from  Brussels,  at  a  small 
railway  station  in  Brabant,  say  Rixensast,  Genval, 
or  La  Hulpe.  A  train  of  inordinate  length,  consist- 
ing almost  entirely  of  third-class  carriages,  runs 
in.  From  the  rapidly  opened  doors  stream  crowds 
of  workmen,  in  dusty,  dirty  clothes,  who  cover  all 
the  platform  as  they  rush  to  the  door,  apparently 
in  feverish  eagerness  to  be  the  first  to  reach  home, 
where  supper  awaits  them.  And  every  quarter  of 
an  hour,  from  the  beginning  of  dusk  till  well  into 
the  night,  trains  follow  trains,  discharge  part  of 


350  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

their  human  freight,  and  at  all  the  villages  along 
the  line  set  down  troops  of  workmen,  masons,  plas- 
terers, pavers,  carpenters  with  their  tool  bags  on 
their  backs.  Elsewhere  it  is  colliers,  miners,  work- 
men in  rolling  mills  and  foundries,  who  are  coming 
from  the  Mons  district  or  Charleroi,  or  Liege,  some 
of  them  obliged  to  travel  sixty  or  seventy  miles  to 
reach  their  homes  in  some  world-forgotten  nook  in 
Flanders  or  Limburg.  And  on  other  parts  of  the 
railway,  in  Campine,  in  Flanders,  or  the  Ardennes, 
Anthwerp  dock  labourers,  weavers  in  the  Roubaix 
and  Turcoing  factories,  metal  workers,  travel  daily 
into  France,  and  when  their  day's  work  is  done  re- 
turn to  the  country  place  where  they  find  their  beds. 
In  short,  in  Belgium  there  are  few  villages  which 
do  not  contain  a  group  of  industrial  workers  who 
work  at  a  distance,  and  often  at  a  great  distance, 
from  their  homes."1 

In  Great  Britain,  as  in  America,  the  highways  are 
in  private  hands.  They  are  operated  with  an  eye 
single  to  dividends.  In  Belgium,  and  in  Germany, 
the  means  of  transportation  are  owned  by  the  state, 
and  are  operated  with  a  conscious  policy  of  serving 
the  people.  Until  the  means  of  transit  are  owned 
by  the  public,  and  operated  to  promote  the  largest 
possible  service,  the  distribution  of  the  city  over  a 
wide  area  is,  of  course,  impossible.    But  the  city  of 

'The  Improvement  of  the  Dwellings  and  Surroundings  of  the 
People,  p.  159,  [Manchester.]  Translation  of  portion  of  an 
article  from  Soziale  Praxis,  of  August  13,  1903. 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW  351 

to-morrow  will  operate  its  means  of  transit  as  the 
modern  office  building  operates  its  elevators.  Rapid- 
ity, safety,  comfort,  cheapness,  not  bulging  divi- 
dends, excessive  charges,  and  the  shortest  possible 
hauls,  will  be  the  standards  of  the  municipality. 
Then  the  tenement  and  the  slum  will  begin  to  dis- 
appear, then  the  population  will  be  scattered  over 
a  wide  area,  then  mankind  will  be  permitted  to  en- 
joy the  advantages  of  the  country  and  at  the  same 
time  participate  in  the  comforts  and  conveniences 
of  the  city.  The  city  of  to-morrow  may  have  a 
diameter  of  a  hundred  miles.  London  will  be  spread 
over  half  a  dozen  counties.  The  city  of  Xew  York 
will  run  far  out  into  Connecticut,  New  Jersey,  and 
Long  Island,  while  Manhattan  Island  will  be  but  a 
clearing  house  of  banks,  shops,  hotels,  clubs,  and 
business  establishments. 

All  these  services  will  be  operated  at  insignificant 
cost,  or  at  no  cost  at  all  to  the  individual  consumer. 
Already,  in  a  number  of  cities,  the  suggestion  has 
been  made  to  abandon  all  charges  for  water  (o  do- 
mestic consumers.  For  aside  from  the  cost  of  col- 
lection, the  operating  charges  of  a  water  plant  are 
an  insignificant  sum.  Artificial  gas  is  sold  in  Great 
Britain  at  from  twenty-five  to  sixty  cents  a  thou- 
sand feet,  and  at  this  price  yields  a  handsome  reve- 
nue. The  by-products,  in  the  form  of  coke,  ammonia, 
tar,  and  other  chemicals,  will  pay  for  the  gas  in  the 
mains,  and  it  seems  rather  foolish  to  maintain  a 


352  THE  BRITISH  CITY 

collection  department  merely  to  pay  for  its  own 
cost.  Electric  current  can  be  produced  at  less  than 
a  cent  a  kilowatt  hour.  It  is  sold  by  private  com- 
panies at  from  five  to  fifteen  cents  a  kilowatt  hour. 
Were  a  moderate  charge  made  for  commercial  and 
manufacturing  purposes,  all  of  these  services  of 
water,  gas,  and  electricity,  could  be  rendered  to 
the  people  at  the  most  insignificant  cost. 

In  America,  the  prevailing  rate  of  street  railway 
fares  is  five  cents.  In  Glasgow  the  average  fare 
under  municipal  ownership  is  1.89  cents.  The  re- 
ports of  the  Tramway  Department  show  that  fares 
could  be  further  reduced  to  one  cent  and  still  pay 
all  operating  expenses,  maintenance,  and  other 
charges.  But  a  cautious  policy  of  debt  repayment 
has  induced  the  British  cities  to  subordinate  the  re- 
duction of  charges  to  the  retirement  of  the  debt  and 
the  relief  of  taxation.  In  a  few  years,  however, 
many  of  the  plants  will  be  free  from  debt,  and  then 
a  new  policy  will  be  open  to  adoption.  Fares  and 
charges  can  be  reduced  to  operating  cost  or  the 
maintenance  of  the  undertaking  can  be  thrown 
upon  the  general  rates. 

Whatever  the  operating  policy  of  the  future  may 
be,  the  British  cities  have  demonstrated  that  the 
franchise  corporations  can  be  operated  by  the  com- 
munity at  a  very  great  saving  to  the  people.  In 
time  we,  too,  will  feel  that  these  great  undertakings 
are  as  necessary  a  part  of  the  city's  life  as  the  po- 


THE  CITY  OE  TO-MORROW.  353 

lice,  the  fire,  the  health,  and  the  school  departments. 
All  of  these  things  the  city  of  to-morrow  will  do 
on  behalf  of  the  people.  The  franchise  corporations 
will  be  utilised  in  a  hundred  ways  not  now  thought 
of.  Then  a  conscious  plan  of  city  building  will  be 
possible.  Then  the  streets  and  public  places  can 
be  laid  out  as  an  architect  plans  a  building.  Then 
all  of  the  physical  foundations  of  the  city  can  be 
planned  in  advance.  Then  transit,  heat,  light, 
power,  and  water  will  be  brought  to  the  people  in 
anticipation  of  their  needs,  while  the  construction 
work  will  be  so  planned  that  it  need  never  be  dis- 
turbed. 

Already  the  territory  surrounding  the  German 
cities  is  being  laid  out  in  this  way.  In  1901  the 
Prussian  Government  issued  instructions  to  the 
governors  of  the  provinces  to  use  every  influence 
to  induce  the  municipalities  to  purchase  all  of  the 
land  they  could  obtain  for  the  purpose  of  improving 
housing  conditions.  Many  of  the  German  cities 
were  already  large  landlords.  And  under  authority 
of  this  decree  they  have  greatly  increased  their 
holdings.  In  some  cities  the  land  of  the  community 
exceeds  150  square  yards  per  head  of  the  population. 
Had  the  city  of  Manchester  as  much  land  as  the 
average  of  the  five  largest  land-owning  cities  of 
Germany,  it  would  be  the  possessor  of  16,860  acres, 
or  26  1-3  square  miles.  The  land  so  acquired  is 
laid  out  by  the  city  in  anticipation  of  the  needs  of 


354  THE   BKITISH   CITY 

the  people.  It  is  leased  to  the  tenants,  who  are 
required  to  build  according  to  the  plans  of  the 
Council.  Eminent  architects  and  engineers  are  em- 
ployed to  lay  out  new  additions,  to  plan  the  streets 
and  parkways  so  as  to  insure  the  health  and  com- 
fort of  the  people,  as  well  as  the  beauty  of  the  sur- 
roundings. Factories  and  manufacturing  plants 
are  segregated,  and  a  large  amount  of  the  land  is 
laid  out  in  open  spaces.  Instead  of  permitting  the 
erection  of  tenements,  which  in  Great  Britain  are 
found  even  in  the  open  fields  about  the  towns,  pro- 
vision is  made  for  small  one-family  cottages.  The 
streets  are  laid  out  to  conform  to  the  general  plan 
of  the  locality.  There  are  sites  for  public  build- 
ings, open  places  for  the  people's  recreation,  while 
trees,  shrubbery,  and  other  decorations,  enhance 
the  beauty  of  the  locality.  The  German  city  has 
already  developed  a  strong  sense  of  the  dignity 
and  the  possibility  of  the  city,  while  the  central 
government  has  accorded  it  ample  powers  for  the 
working  out  of  its  life.1  It  is  this  that  explains  the 
efficiency  of  the  German  city  rather  than  the  form 
of  its  government.  It  has  a  large  degree  of  free- 
dom and  a  fine  sense  of  itself.  The  cities  of  America 
and  Great  Britain  are  lacking  in  any  strong  COn- 
Tor  an  excellent  and  very  exhaustive  discussion  of  the  hous- 
ing activities  in  Germany,  together  with  valuable  information 
as  to  conditions  in  Great  Britain,  see  "The  Improvement  of 
the  Dwellings  and  Surroundings  of  the  People:  The  Example 
of  Germany,"  published  by  the  Manchester  University  Press. 
Is.    1904. 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW  355 

cern  for  human  life.  The  solicitude  for  property 
prevents  the  destruction  of  the  slum  except  at  enor- 
mous cost  to  the  tax-payers.  But  the  city  of  to- 
morrow will  no  more  permit  a  land  owner  to  main- 
tain a  slum  than  it  will  permit  a  butcher  to  sell 
diseased  meat,  or  a  drunken  man  carelessly  to  bran- 
dish a  loaded  revolver  in  a  crowded  public  highway. 

The  German  city  sees  the  housing  problem  as  it 
really  is — a  land  problem.  It  is  not  lack  of  build- 
ing materials  or  labour,  it  is  the  land  speculator 
who  is  responsible  for  the  slum.  And  the  German 
cities  are  attacking  the  monopoly  by  the  purchase 
of  large  tracts  of  outlying  property,  and  the 
taxation  of  land  values.  The  former  policy  enables 
the  community  to  save  to  itself  the  future  unearned 
increment  on  so  much  of  the  land  as  it  acquires,  and 
permits  it  to  control  the  development  of  the  city. 
Town  Councils  are  also  empowered  to  tax  sites 
that  have  not  been  built  upon  at  their  market  value. 
In  those  communities  where  this  policy  has  been 
put  in  force  the  taxes  upon  the  site  value  of  the 
land  have,  in  many  instances,  been  increased  as 
much  as  a  thousand  per  cent. 

There  is  nothing  new  in  the  latter  proposal  in 
America.  Land  has  always  been  assessed  under  the 
general  property  tax,  and  in  New  York,  Boston, 
Detroit,  and  elsewhere,  the  appraisal  of  the  land 
and  the  improvements  has  been  made  separately. 
In  those  cities  we  now  have  exact  information  show- 


356  THE   BEITISH   CITY 

ing  the  colossal  increase  in  the  value  of  urban  land 
and  the  possibility  of  levying  all  of  the  local  rates 
upon  the  site  values  alone,  and  the  abandonment 
of  all  taxes  upon  buildings  and  improvements.  Ac- 
cording to  the  appraisal  of  1904,  the  value  of  the 
naked  land  in  New  York,  exclusive  of  all  improve- 
ments, was  $3,697,686,935.  The  annual  rent  rolls 
of  a  small  number  of  owners,  and  paid  by  the  re- 
maining three  million  tenants,  amounted,  at  five 
per  cent.,  to  $184,884,430  per  annum.  This  is  the 
equivalent  of  $52.85  on  every  man,  woman  and  child 
in  the  metropolis.  The  total  expenditures  of  the 
city  in  that  year  were  but  $108,000,000,  of  which 
sum  about  $54,000,000  was  collected  from  the  land. 
Were  all  other  forms  of  taxation  abandoned,  and 
the  total  expenditures  of  the  city  thrown  upon  the 
unearned  increment  of  the  handful  of  landlords, 
all  of  the  present  needs  of  the  city  would  be  met 
from  this  source,  and  the  land  owners  would  still 
be  left  with  a  princely  income  in  excess  of  $100,- 
000,000.  But  this  is  not  all.  From  1904  to  1905 
the  value  of  the  land  alone  increased  $140,000,000, 
or  $30,000,000  more  than  all  of  the  expenditures 
of  the  city.  So  rapid  is  the  growth  of  land  values 
in  any  growing  city,  that  were  the  city  to  appro- 
priate only  the  increase  from  year  to  year,  all  other 
taxes  could  be  abandoned.  In  all  of  the  cities  of 
America,  where  investigations  have  been  made  into 
this  subject,  the  same  is  true.    A  study  of  the  rela- 


THE  CITY  OF  TOMORROW  357 

tion  of  land  values  to  population  seems  to  indicate 
that  the  value  of  the  bare  land  underlying  any  large 
city  is  worth  about  $1,000  per  head.  If  the  popula- 
tion increases  five  per  cent,  the  land  increases  at  a 
like  rate.  Every  babe  that  is  born,  every  immigrant 
who  adopts  the  city  as  his  home,  contributes  a  value 
of  f  1,000  to  those  who  own  the  land.  This  value, 
which  their  coming  has  created,  they  are  then 
charged  for  using.  And  every  contribution  in  the 
form  of  taxes  but  increases  the  value  of  the  site 
which  the  people  occupy  and  the  amount  of  the 
tribute  to  be  paid  to  the  owner  of  the  land. 

It  is  this  that  makes  the  tax  upon  land  values 
so  natural  a  source  of  municipal  revenue.  It  is 
more  than  adequate  for  all  of  the  needs  of  the  city. 
It  is  the  joint  product  of  all  of  the  community. 
No  energy  of  the  owner  gives  it  value.  It  is  purely 
social  in  its  origin.  It  responds  to  every  expendi- 
ture of  the  municipality.  It  rises  with  the  coming 
of  transit,  the  opening  of  streets  and  sewers,  the 
erection  of  schools  and  public  structures,  and  the 
provision  for  police,  health,  and  fire  protection. 
Every  activity  of  the  community  enriches  the  land- 
owning class  and  no  other.  For  the  land,  and  the 
resources  of  the  land,  are  the  only  forms  of  wealth 
that  do  not  depreciate  and  decay  with  the  passing 
of  time. 

Such  a  tax,  imposed  to  the  limit,  would  substitute 
the  community  for  the  ground  landlord.    The  ren- 


358  THE   BEITISH   CITY 

tals  which  now  flow  into  the  pockets  of  a  handful 
of  owners  would  then  pass  into  the  city  treasury. 
They  would  be  adequate  for  all  of  the  needs  of  the 
most  highly  organised  municipality.  All  other  taxes 
could  be  abandoned,  while  countless  services  now 
in  private  hands  could  be  supplied  without  cost  to 
the  citizen.  But  the  chief  gains  from  such  a  redis- 
tribution of  taxes  would  be  social.  Land  would  be 
forced  into  use.  The  owner  could  no  longer  sit  idly 
upon  his  estates  until  the  necessities  of  humanity 
led  him  to  offer  them  to  the  market.  He  would 
build  homes  for  the  people,  while  suburban  land 
would  be  opened  up  to  market  gardening  and  the 
erection  of  cottages.  Under  such  conditions,  pri- 
vate initiative  would  lead  to  the  erection  of  model 
dwellings.  There  would  be  competition  for  tenants 
on  the  part  of  the  landlord.  No  longer  would  there 
be  a  famine  in  houses.  Then  the  slum  would  come 
down,  just  as  the  manufacturer  abandons  worn-out 
machinery,  in  order  to  meet  the  pressure  of  his 
more  progressive  neighbour.  Then  we  would  see 
the  same  sort  of  enterprise  and  ingenuity  in  the  de- 
signing of  homes  that  is  now  manifest  in  the  mak- 
ing of  automobiles  or  of  any  other  competitive 
product  which  monopoly  does  not  control.  The 
city  would  not  need  to  erect  model  dwellings,  for 
the  burden  of  taxation  wTould  awaken  in  the  land 
owner  the  same  ingenuity  that  prevails  in  other 
lines  of  trade. 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW  359 

Not  only  would  the  taxation  of  land  values  re- 
lieve the  housing  question,  open  up  the  countryside 
to  occupancy,  and  widen  out  the  city's  boundaries, 
it  would  awaken  industry  of  every  kind.  Wages 
would  rise  through  the  stimulus  to  building  and 
the  multitude  of  other  industries  that  are  now 
strangled  by  the  monopoly  of  the  resources  of  the 
earth.  The  land  would  be  reclaimed  by  the  people. 
It  would  be  opened  to  cultivation,  subject  to  an 
annual  rent  charge  to  the  state.  The  countryside 
would  awaken  into  new  life.  It  is  only  in  this  way 
that  the  city  can  be  ruralised  and  its  full  possibili- 
ties be  realised.  Its  boundaries  would  then  be  de- 
termined by  natural  causes  rather  than  by  the  dead 
hand  of  the  land  speculator. 

The  taxation  of  land  values  is  far  more  than  a 
fiscal  expedient  for  the  juster  distribution  of  the 
burdens  of  government.  It  is  a  philosophy  of  indi- 
vidualism. It  would  place  in  the  hands  of  the  com- 
munity those  things  that  are  public,  and  leave  in 
private  hands  those  activities  that  are  competitive. 
The  line  of  division  is  simple  and  definite.  It  is 
drawn  at  those  monopolies  which  are  identified  with 
the  land.  It  would  have  the  community  own  the 
means  of  transportation,  the  gas,  water,  electric 
light,  and  telephone  services,  and  administer  them 
for  the  public  weal.  The  city  would  retake  the 
value  of  t lie  land  through  taxation  because1  the  life 
of  the  community  is  dependent  upon  it,  and  because 


360  THE   BRITISH   CITY 

it  is  the  joint  product  of  all.  No  policy  of  city  build- 
ing is  possible  so  long  as  the  physical  foundations 
are  in  private  hands  interested  only  in  exacting  the 
highest  possible  price  for  its  use.  For  the  interests 
of  the  landlord  are  at  war  with  the  needs  of  human- 
ity. Every  effort  of  the  city  to  improve  the  con- 
dition of  the  people  is  frustrated  so  long  as  the  pri- 
vate interest  of  the  land  owner  remains  superior  to 
the  well-being  of  the  community.  Any  reduction 
in  the  charges  for  water,  gas,  and  transportation 
becomes  but  a  contribution  from  one  class  of  land 
owners  to  another. 

Such  a  programme  is  only  possible  when  the  city 
is  free,  free  from  interference  by  Parliament  or  the 
State  Legislature.  The  city  of  to-morrow  will  be 
a  simple  democracy,  a  little  republic,  like  the  great 
cities  of  the  past.  It  will  be  an  experiment  station 
in  government.  It  will  be  endowed  with  ample 
power  to  levy  its  taxes  as  it  will.  It  will  be  free 
to  undertake  such  activities  as  the  people  may  de- 
cide. Its  charter  will  be  of  its  own  making.  Wheth- 
er its  form  be  that  of  the  German,  the  British,  or 
the  American  city,  will  be  a  matter  of  trial.  As 
the  activities  of  the  community  increase,  the  admin- 
istrative agencies  will  be  made  to  conform  to  the 
local  needs,  rather  than  to  some  uniform  charter 
which  the  legislature  has  adopted.  All  this  can  be 
done  through  a  charter  convention,  or  by  the  Coun- 
cil itself,  subject  to  a  referendum  vote  of  the  people. 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW!  361 

Such  a  means  of  charter  amendment  already  pre- 
vails in  California,  Oregon,  and  a  number  of  West- 
ern States.  The  activities  which  the  city  may  un- 
dertake will  be  passed  upon  by  the  people  in  the 
same  way.  Upon  petition  of  a  certain  percentage 
of  the  voters,  any  ordinance,  any  appropriation,  any 
action  of  the  Council,  may  be  submitted  to  the  ap- 
proval of  the  electors.  The  policy  to  be  followed 
on  excise  and  sumptuary  questions,  which  are  a 
source  of  so  much  trouble  to  American  and  British 
cities,  may  be  solved  in  the  same  way.  The  opening 
and  the  closing  of  the  saloons  on  Sunday,  the  mat- 
ter of  Sunday  theatres  and  recreations,  the  method 
of  controlling  the  liquor  traffic,  these  and  many 
other  questions  of  public  policy,  which  involve  no 
criminal  question,  should  be  disposed  of  by  the  peo- 
ple most  interested  rather  than  by  some  distant 
legislative  authority  without  knowledge  of  or  inter- 
est in  the  life  of  the  communities  most  involved. 

There  will  be  a  widening  of  the  suffrage  in  the 
city  of  to-morrow.  Democracy  will  recognise  that 
the  city  is  as  much  a  woman's  city  as  it  is  a  man's. 
To  her  it  means  protection  of  the  life  and  the  health 
of  children  from  disease,  the  promotion  of  educa- 
tion, and  recreation.  Upon  her  the  most  oppressive 
burdens  of  society  are  now  thrown.  She  pays  the 
heaviest  price  for  the  incompetence  of  the  city.  She 
pays  the  cost  of  the  dirt,  the  impure  water,  the  in- 
efficiency of  the  health  and  other  departments.    For 


362  THE   BKITISH   CITY 

these  are  the  domestic  services.  And  when  they  are 
indifferently  performed  they  increase  the  burden  of 
her  life.  When  the  city  enjoys  her  vote  and  her 
service  there  will  come  a  quickened  interest  in  the 
higher  side  of  municipal  life.  Then  the  city  will 
become  a  people's  city  rather  than  the  outward 
and  visible  symbol  of  the  commercialism  that  dom- 
inates all  of  our  ideals  of  life.  Through  her  it  will 
be  socialised  in  the  lines  that  promote  health,  and 
ease,  and  comfort,  and  happiness. 

To  many  people  any  belief  in  the  city  is  the  idlest 
of  dreams.  They  see  only  a  loss  in  the  passing  of 
the  rural  population  to  the  crowded  industrial  life 
of  the  modern  city.  But  it  is  natural  that  men 
should  want  to  be  in  the  midst  of  the  currents  of 
civilisation,  even  though  it  involves  some  risk  of 
failure.  For  many  fail.  The  city  of  to-morrow  will 
seek  to  relieve  the  vicarious  cost  of  those  who  con- 
tribute their  lives  to  the  making  of  the  city.  It  will 
become  a  sympathetic  political  organisation,  in- 
spired by  no  abstract  formulas  of  the  proper  limits 
of  co-operative  activity  save  the  fundamental  one 
that  the  end  of  government  is  the  welfare  of  the  peo- 
ple. Such  a  sense  is  already  a  long  way  advanced. 
The  change  which  has  already  come  over  the  atti- 
tude of  the  cities  of  the  United  States  is  little  short 
of  revolutionary.  The  city  is  being  inspired  by  a 
new  morality.  It  lies  latent  in  every  community, 
and  only  needs  a  leader  to  call  it  into  life.    It  is  the 


THE  CITY  OF  TO-MORROW  363 

morality  of  social  justice,  which,  is  the  mission  of 
industrial  democracy  to  the  modern  world.  It  is 
this  that  makes  the  city  of  to-morrow  the  hope  of 
civilisation,  just  as  the  city  of  to-day  is  its  despair. 


INDEX 


Administration,  Nature  of 
city,  p.  31. 

Agriculture,  Population  de- 
voted to  diminishing,  p.  1; 
possibilities  of,  in  Great 
Britain,  p.  318;  effect  of 
taxation  of  land  values  on, 
p.  326. 

America,  Political  conditions 
in,  pp.  viii,  228;  size  of  city 
councils,  p.  28;  cities,  limi- 
tations of,  p.  230;  some  of 
its  successes,  p.  241. 

Aristocracy,  Influence  of  Brit- 
ish, on  legislation,  p.  277; 
amount  of  rent  paid  to,  p. 
312;  see  land. 

Art  and  democracy,  p.  224. 

Audit,  Method  of,  p.  235. 


Beauty,   Lack  of,  in  British 

cities,  p.  243. 
Belgium,  Policy  of,  in  matter 

of  transportation,  p.  348. 
Board  of  Trade,  control  over 

cities,  p.  152. 
Business  interests  at  work  in 

Congress,  p.  viii. 
Business  men,  attitude  toward 

municipal    ownership,  'pp. 

viii,  119. 
Burns,  John,  p.  214. 


Caste  in  Great  Britain,  p.  279. 

Charles  II  and  the  govern- 
ment of  towns,  p.  11. 

Charters,  Medieval,  p.  254. 

City,  the  center  of  new  de- 
mocracy, p.  x;  the  British 
is  honestly  administered,  p. 
x;  poverty  in,  p.  x;  conflict 
with  privilege,  p.  xi  (see 
privilege) ;  city  population 
in  Britain,  p.  1;  work, 
magnitude  of,  p.  50;  cor- 
ruption due  to  franchise 
corporations,  p.  50;  ideals 
of,  p.  58;  do  not  have  home 
rule,  pp.  146,  159;  affection 
of  the  people  for,  pp.  99, 
125;  area  of,  in  England 
and  America,  p.  265;  lack 
of  hope  and  opportunity  in, 
p.  310;  ancient,  p.  336;  the 
new  ideals  of,  p.  337;  is  the 
center  of  hope,  p.  339;  in- 
creasing functions  of,  p. 
340;  too  much  emphasis  on 
privilege  and  property,  p. 
348;  necessity  of  control 
over  physical  foundations 
by  community,  p.  346; 
changes  in  the  ideals  of 
administration,  p.  351;  Ger- 
man cities  and  their  control 
of  land,  p.  353. 

Citizen,  English,  attitude  to- 
ward city,  pp.  61,  181. 


366 


366 


INDEX 


Class  lines  in  English  city,  p. 
39;  in  the  government,  p. 
56. 

Clerk,  Town,  p.  36. 

Committees  of  Councils,  and 
how  they  work,  p.  30. 

Congress,  Influences  that  con- 
trol, p.  viii. 

Corruption,  Due  to  franchise 
corporations,  p.  50;  in  Brit- 
ish cities,  p.  67;  absence  of, 
in  Glasgow,  p.  164;  compari- 
son of,  in  England  and 
America,  p.  272;  under  old 
royal  charters,  pp.  12-14; 
municipal  ownership,  not  a 
cause  of,  p.  68;  in  America 
and  Great  Britain,  p.  272. 

Councils,  Town,  enjoy  all  of 
the  powers  of  city,  p.  24; 
size  of,  and  method  of,  elec- 
tion to,  p.  27;  is  a  rate-pay- 
ers' body,  p.  41;  in  London, 
p.  138;  in  Glasgow,  p.  167. 

Councilmen,  Arduous  nature 
of  duties,  p.  32. 


Decay,  Industrial  and  social, 
in  England,  p.  304;  causes 
assigned  for  the  same,  p. 
304;  due  to  privilege,  p. 
305;  in  villages,  p.  307. 

Democracy,  in  cities,  pp.  xv, 
8;  ideals  at  war  with  pres- 
ent conditions,  p.  4;  begin- 
ning in  English  cities,  p. 
55;  programme  of  munici- 
pal, pp.  57,  65;  effect  of 
rate-paying  class  on,  p.  240; 
is  not  a  matter  of  form.  p. 
278. 


Docks,  a  monopoly  right,  p. 
259. 

E 

Economic  motive  in  city  poli- 
tics, pp.  vii,  10,  41. 

Efficiency  of  British  city,  p. 
236. 

Elections,  Method  of  conduct- 
ing same,  pp.  33,  173;  in 
England  and  America,  p. 
234. 

Electors,  Qualifications  of,  pp. 
44,  240. 

Employees  of  city,  p.  31. 

Electric  lighting,  slow  devel- 
opment of,  p.  Ill;  method 
of  securing  powers  from 
Parliament  to  operate,  p. 
112;  life  of  franchises  lim- 
ited, how,  p.  112;  franchise 
values  paid  for  by  the  cit- 
ies, p.  113;  generally  suc- 
cessful, p.  115. 

Enthusiasm,  due  to  public 
ownership,  p.  50. 

Employees  of  the  British  city, 
p.  135;  alleged  dangers  from 
the  increase  of,  p.  136; 
wages  under  London  Coun- 
ty Council,  pp.  138,  216; 
Works  Department,  p.  138; 
in  Glasgow,  p.  167. 

Estates  of  aristocracy,  p.  308. 

F 

Financial  success  of  munici- 
pal ownership,  p.  75;  of 
tramway  operation,  pp.  88, 
92;  of  gas,  p.  105-108. 

Franchise  corporations,  cor- 
rupting influences  of,  in 
America,  pp.  50,  232;   atti- 


INDEX 


367 


tude  of,  toward  American 
cities,  p.  125;  arouse  class 
conflicts,  p.  126;  interfere 
with  city  building,  p.  131; 
effect  on  city  life,  p.  132; 
how  granted,  in  England,  p. 
148;  method  of  purchase  by 
cities,  p.  152 ;  absence  of  cor- 
rupting influence  in  British 
city,  p.  233;  members  of 
Parliament  interested  in,  p. 
289. 
Fraternal  attitude  of  British 
city,  p.  132. 

G 

Gas  supply,  Attitude  of  Par- 
liament towards,  p.  101; 
number  of  public  and  pri- 
vate plants,  p.  102;  statis- 
tics of  ownership  and  op- 
eration, p.  103;  general  re- 
sults of  municipal  owner- 
ship, pp.  104-109;  in  Glas- 
gow, p.  193. 

Germany,  policy  of  cities  as 
to  land,  pp.  348,  353. 

Glasgow,  attitude  of  people  to- 
wards, p.  161;   graft  in,  p. 
164;    is    a    government    of 
tax-payers,  p.   167;    has  no 
special  privileges  to  bestow, 
p.  165;   employees,  number 
of,   p.    169;    the   Lord   Pro- 
vost,   p.    170;     method    of 
electing  councilmen,  p.  173 
the  Town  Council,  p.  177 
love  of  people  for  city,  p 
181;  tramways,  p.  184;  busi 
ness  enterprises  of,  p.  191 
taxes  collected  by,  p.  164 
electric  lighting  in,  p.  118 
tramways  in,  p.  95. 


Government,  End  of,  p.  5. 
Guilds,  Trading,  p.  21. 

H 

Home    rule    in    America,    p 

147;  in  England,  p.  159. 
Honesty    of    city    administra- 

tration  in  Great  Britain,  p. 

40. 
House  of  Lords,  Composition 

of,  p.  278. 
Housing   conditions,   pp.   157, 

266. 
Hunting  preserves,  p.  308. 
Huxley,   Quotations   from,   p. 

122. 

I 

Ideals  of  London  County 
Council,  p.  227. 

Imperial  taxes,  and  injustice 
of,  p.  324. 

Indebtedness  of  British  cities, 
p.  71. 

Indirect  taxes,  and  evil  effects 
of,  p.  42. 

Industrial  conditions  of  cit- 
ies, p.  3. 

Industrial  decay,  and  causes 
of,  p.  311. 


Landed  aristocracy,  p.  9 ;  pow- 
ers of,  p.  64;  influence  on 
legislation,  p.  286;  incomes 
of,  p.  323;  see  Parliament 
and  privilege. 

Land,  Value  of,  in  New  York 
and  London,  pp.  245,  283; 
attitude  of  British  people 
towards  those  who  own,  p. 
247;  monopoly  of,  p.  251;  is 


368 


INDEX 


closely  held,  p.  256;  condi- 
tions which  promote  it,  p. 
257;  sanctity  of,  p.  296; 
monopoly  of,  and  effects  on, 
agriculture,  p.  309;  on  the 
life  of  the  people,  p.  317; 
value  in  Great  Britain,  p. 
323. 

Land  reform,  p.  63. 

Land  values,  and  efforts  of 
cities  to  tax,  p.  268;  pres- 
ent amount  of  tax  on,  p. 
283;  programme  of  taxa- 
tion, p.  285. 

Leases,  land  and  conditions 
of,  p.  260. 

Licensing  bill,  p.  295. 

Livery  companies,  p.  21. 

Local  bill  legislation,  p.  292. 

Local  taxes  and  method  of  as- 
sessing, p.  42 ;  amount  of,  p. 
316;  method  of  raising  of 
great  importance,  pp.  261, 
320;  under  the  control  of 
Parliament,  p.  284. 

London,  City  of,  pp.  20,  207. 

London  County  Council,  pp. 
46,  138;  trading  enterprises 
in,  p.  71;  lack  of  order  in 
the  method  of  administra- 
tion, p.  203;  the  different 
agencies,  p.  204;  its  powers, 
p.  205;  parties  in  the  Coun- 
cil, p.  211;  its  programme, 
p.  215;  the  Works  Depart- 
ment, p.  216;  the  struggle 
with  privilege,  p.  221;  a 
new  idea  in  the  world,  p. 
227. 

M 

Mayor,  powers  and  privileges 
of,  p.  25;  in  Glasgow,  p. 
170. 


Market  rights,  a  monopoly,  p. 
258. 

Merit  system  in  England,  p. 
239. 

Metropolitan  Board  of  Works, 
p.  206. 

Monopoly,  the  desire  for  it  a 
power  in  government,  pp. 
ix,  144;  is  always  active  in 
Parliament,  p.  281. 

Municipal  Corporations  Act, 
1835,  p.  16. 

Municipal  ownership  enter- 
prises, how  managed,  p.  30; 
stimulated  by  rate-payers, 
p.  47;  influence  upon  the 
citizen,  p.  52;  influences 
causing  its  growth,  p.  59; 
cause  of  good  government 
not  of  corruption,  p.  68;  in- 
debtedness for,  71;  number 
and  classes  of  enterprises, 
p.  71;  in  London,  p.  71;  op- 
position to  trading,  p.  72; 
unfairness  of  the  reports,  p. 
73;  earnings  of,  p.  74; 
financial  success  assured,  p. 
75;  relief  of  taxation  from, 
pp.  76-77;  distinction  be- 
tween public  and  private 
enterprises,  p.  78;  move- 
ment but  beginning,  p.  81; 
Renaissance  of  city  govern- 
ment due  to,  p.  99;  a  larger 
question  than  a  financial 
one,  pp.  120-125;  interfer- 
ence of  private  corpora- 
tions with  American  poli- 
tics, p.  126;  involves  class 
struggles,  p.  126;  compari- 
son of  American  and  Eng- 
lish cities,  p.  127;  city 
ideals  only  possible  when 
franchises    are    in    public 


INDEX 


369 


hands,  p.  132;  in  Glasgow, 
pp.  184-197;  general  success 
of,  p.  236;  in  the  city  of  to- 
morrow, p.  346. 

N 

Nominations,  Methods  of  mak- 
ing, p.  32. 

Non-employment,  Statistics  of, 
p.  2. 

P 

Parliament  is  reactionary,  p. 
6;  supervision  of  city  mat- 
ters, p.  37 ;  attitude  towards 
gas  supply,  p.  101;  repre- 
sents privilege,  p.  144;  its 
attitude  towards  cities,  p. 
145;  denies  home  rule,  p. 
146;  prescribes  method  of 
borrowing  money,  p.  148; 
private  bill  legislation,  p. 
152;  attitude  of  conserva- 
tive party,  p.  158;  fears  the 
powers  of  cities,  pp.  154- 
157;  responsible  for  tene- 
ment and  housing  condi- 
tions, p.  156;  struggle  in 
Great  Britain  is  between 
Parliament  and  cities,  p. 
158;  need  of  home  rule,  p. 
159;  relation  with  monop- 
oly, p.  260;  class  legislation 
of,  p.  290;  costs  of  private 
bills,  p.  292. 

Poverty  in  English  city,  p.  5; 
influence  on  trading,  p.  62; 
in  Great  Britain,  p.  310. 

Politics,  Absence  of,  in  city 
elections,  p.  33;  comparison 
of  American  and  British,  p. 
274. 

Private  bill  legislation,  p.  148. 

Privileges,  Struggle  of  Lon- 
don County  Council  with,  p. 


221 ;  and  corruption  in  Eng- 
land, p.  229;  prevalence  of, 
p.  300;  emphasis  on,  in 
England  and  America,  p. 
348. 

Programme  of  cities,  pp.  57, 
65. 

Purchase  of  franchise  cor- 
porations, Method  of,  p.  86. 

R 

Railways,  Method  of  incor- 
poration and  capitalization, 
p.  287;  landlords  and  rights- 
of-way,  p.  288. 

Rate-paying  class  in  control 
of  cities,  p.  xiv;  explains 
many  excellencies  of  cities, 
p.  41 ;  attitude  towards  city, 
pp.  60,  82;  influence  on  life 
of  city,  p.  240. 

Rent,  its  effect  on  the  life  of 
the  people,  p.  313;  amount 
paid  to  the  aristocracy,  p. 
312;  is  paid  out  of  the  la- 
bor of  the  nation,  p.  324. 

Rome  and  England,  a  com- 
parison, p.  300. 

S 

Self-government  beginning  in 

cities,  p.  6. 
Suffrage,  a  property  right,  p. 

43;     evil    effects    of,    240; 

woman,  p.  361. 
Spoils    system,    none    under 

municipal  ownership,  p.  135. 


Taxation,  how  adjusted  in  the 
American  city,  p.  42;  relief 
of,  through  municipal  own- 


370 


INDEX 


ership,  p.  77;  relief  of,  by- 
tramways,  p.  97;  effect  on 
political  and  social  life  of, 
p.  245;  evil  effects  of  local 
taxes,  p.  261;  distribution 
of  Imperial,  p.  298;  of  land 
values,  p.  325;  effect  of  on 
agriculture  and  town  life, 
pp.  325-329 ;  measures  intro- 
duced into  Parliament  for, 
p.  331. 

Tenancy,  Effect  of,  on  voter, 
p.  43. 

Tenements,  Control  of  Parlia- 
ment over,  p.  156. 

Tenure,  Methods  of  land,  p. 
312. 

Town  Council;  see  Council. 

Towns  in  Middle  Ages,  p.  253. 

To-morrow,  City  of,  pp.  337- 
363. 

Trading  enterprises;  see  mu- 
nicipal ownership. 

Tramways,  an  essentially  pub- 
lic service,  p.  83;  Act  of 
1870,  p.  84;  experience  of 
Glasgow,    p.    87;     financial 


showing  of  public  and  pri- 
vate, p.  88;  Zone  system,  p. 
91;  rates  of  fare,  p.  91; 
earnings  of,  p.  92;  Glasgow 
experiences,  p.  95;  relief  of 
taxation,  p.  97;  real  gains 
from  ownership,  p.  98;  in 
Glasgow,  p.  184. 
Transit,  necessary  for  city  to, 
means  of,  p.  346. 


Villages,  Condition  of,  p.  307. 

W 

Wages,    fair    scale    fixed    by 

Council,  p.  138. 
Woman  suffrage,  p.  361. 
Workingmen,     entrance    into 

city  politics,  p.  35. 
Works  Department  of  cities, 

pp.  138,  216. 


Zone  system,  p.  91. 


THE  CITY 

The   Hope   of  Democracy 

By 

FREDERIC  C.  HOWE,  Ph.D. 

i2mo,  $1.50  net 

CONTENTS 

Introductory 

The  New  Civilization 

The  Profit  Account 

The  Loss  Account 

The  American  City  at  Work 

The  Source  of  Corruption 

The  Boss,  the  Party  and  the  System 

The  Way  Out — Municipal  Ownership 

Does  Municipal  Ownership  Pay  ? 

The  City  Republic 

The  City  Charter 

The  Cost  of  the  Slum 

The  City's  Homes 

The  City's  Wreckage 

The  Wards  of  the  City 

The  City  Beautiful 

The  City's  Treasure 

The  Revenues  of  the  City 

The  City  for  the  People 

The  Hope  of  Democracy 

Index 

"  Here  is  a  book  that  should  challenge  universal 
attention.  Students  and  practical  workers  in  munic- 
ipal politics  should  find  it  one  of  the  most  illuminat- 
ing studies  that  has  come  to  us  in  book  form  for 
many  a  day.  His  discussion  is  vigorous,  optimistic 
and  impressive,  and  whether  or  not  the  reader  accepts 
the  author's  views,  the  view  taken  is  one  that  should 
not,  and  will  not,  be  ignored." — Cleveland  News. 


THE  CITY:   THE  HOPE 
OF  DEMOCRACY 


From  a  Letter  from  John  Ure  Primrose,  Lord 
Provost  of  Glasgow  : 
"  The  subject  is  a  most  suggestive  one,  and  in  his 
analysis  of  the  present  political  and  municipal  systems, 
the  author  shows  not  only  a  profound  knowledge  of 
his  theme,  but  an  enlightened  and  constructive  con- 
ception of  the  remedies  which  will  require  to  be 
employed  in  the  rectification  of  existing  abuses." 

"  Suggestive  and  is  certainly  a  valuable  contribu- 
tion to  the  solution  of  many  vexatious  municipal 
problems." — Memphis  Commercial  appeal. 

"  A  frank  discussion  of  municipal  problems  as 
they  are  actually  encountered  in  the  more  typical  of 
our  American  cities.  The  prevailing  note  is  one  of 
optimism." — The  Review  of  Reviews. 

"  Mr.  Howe  .  .  .  has  here  produced  a  strong 
and  detailed  analysis  of  evils  at  the  root  of  municipal 
misgovernment.  His  work  is  commended  to  thought- 
ful men." — Boston  Advertiser. 

"  A  notable  contribution  to  an  important  branch 
of  political  science." — Chicago  Record- Herald. 

"  Every  leader  in  city  politics  will  find  facts  and 
arguments  in  this  book  to  stimulate  his  hope  and  pilot 
his  activities." — The  Independent. 


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